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THE    BOY    PROBLEM 


THE   BOY   PROBLEM 


BY 


WILLIAM  BYRON  FORBUSH 


SEVENTH   EDITION 


THE    PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1901,  1902,  1907,  1913 
By  William  Btron  Forbush 


t^ws:  H«»t. 


MIHTKO  '  AND  ■  BOtniD  •  ST 
TBI  •  FLIIirTOV  •  »«■■• 

(W     D  •  Ol 
■OaWOQO  •  MAM  •  O  •  I  •  4 


/■ 


PREFACE 


The  best  way  to  help  boys  is  to  understand  them. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  endeavor  to  help  parents  and 
social  workers  to  understand  boys. 

The  viewpoint  is  that  of  a  father  who  has  been  forced  by  the 
exigencies  of  his  vocation  to  find  out  how  to  accomplish  his  task. 
The  experiences  which  are  used  as  illustrations  for  the  book  are 
those  of  one  who  has  been  working  with  boys  in  a  social  and 
rehgious  way  for  over  twenty  years.  There  is  also  the  back- 
ground of  wide  and  persistent  reading. 

The  book  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  written  several  years  ago 
laid  much  emphasis  upon  the  importance  and  methods  of  giving 
boys  adult  companionship  in  their  gang  life.  It  has  had  an 
influence  in  the  development  and  extension  of  this  work  which 
has  been  gratifjdng  to  the  writer.  In  the  later  editions  the  book 
has  been  completely  rewritten  with  the  interests  of  the  parent 
in  mind.  In  this  edition  the  lists  of  books  for  further  reading 
have  been  brought  completely  up  to  date. 

WILLIAM  BYRON  FORBUSH. 


^f\C*Gr\c'% 


CONTENTS 


Paob 
I.  BoT  Life  :  A  Study  of  the  Development  and  Espe- 
cially the  Social  Development  of  the  Boy  ....  7 
II.  By-Laws  of  Boy  Life:  Some  Exceptions  to  and 

Limitations  of  Generalities  about  Boys 40 

III.  Wats  in  Which  Boys  Spontaneously  Organize 

Socially:   A  Study  of  the  "  Gang  "  and  Child- 
Societies    TT 56 

IV.  Social    Organizations    Formed    for    Boys    by 

Adults:   A  CriCiqueof  Boys'  Clubs  and  Church 

Work  for  Boys 66 

V.  Some  Suggestions  as  to  How  to  Help  Boys:   A 

Constructive  Study 130 

VI.  The  Boy  Problem  in  the  Church      175 

VII.  The  Boy  in  the  Home 193 

General  Bibliography 209 

Index 211 


"  His  inttmados,  to  confess  a  truth,  were  in  the  world's  eye 
a  ragged  regiment.  He  never  cared  greatly  for  the  society  of 
what  are  called  good  people.  .  .  .  He  had  a  general  aversion 
of  being  treated  Hke  a  grave  or  respectable  character.  He 
herded  always,  while  it  was  possible,  with  people  younger  than 
himself.  His  manners  lagged  behind  his  years.  He  was  too 
much  of  the  boy-man.  The  toga  virilis  never  sate  gracefully 
on  his  shoulders.  The  impressions  of  infancy  had  burnt  into 
him,  and  he  resented  the  impertinence  of  manhood.  These 
were  weaknesses;  but  such  as  they  were,  they  are  a  key  to 
expUcate  some  of  his  writings." 

—  From  the  preface  to  The  Last  Essays  of  Elia. 


\ 


THE    BOY   PEOBLEM 


BOY  LIFE 


The  period  of  a  boy's  life  is  roughly  divided  as 
follows:  Infancy,  from  birth  to  about  six;  childhood^ 
from  six  to  fourteen;  adolescence,  from  about  fourteen 
to  manhood. 

It  is  not  until  about  six  that,  with  the 
rise  and  sensitization  of  memory,  the 
continent  of  child-life  appears  above  the  sea  to  vision. 
Those  years  of  molding  and  upheaval  which  we  do 
not  remember  as  to  ourselves,  and  of  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  secure  verbal  testimony,  though  silent,  are 
not  unimportant.  Physically,  infancy  is  characterized 
by  the  most  restless,  impulsive  activity.  "  The  period 
of  greatest  physical  activity  in  a  man's  life  ends  at 
about  six."  The,  infant  is  Hke  the  wild  creatures  of 
the  wood,  and  it  is  as  cruel  to  confine  the  physical 
activities  of  young  children  as  those  of  squirrels  and 
swallows.  Physically,  these  activities  are  struggles  for 
what  we  call  "  a  constitution."  Mentally,  they  are  the 
outreaching  tendrils  of  instinct  to  grasp  and  com- 
prehend the  furniture  of  life.  Indeed,  the  infant  boy 
appears  to  consist  mostly  of  a  bundle  of  instincts.  Of 
these  the  simpler  ones  of  grasping,  locomotion,  curi- 
osity, etc.,  are  means  of  self-education,  but  the  most 
marked  is  imitation.     "  These  instincts  are  implanted 

7 


.;T  ff  Jv        ^:0  Y         PROBLEM 

for  the  sake  of  giving  rise  to  habits.  This  purpose 
accomplished,  the  instincts,  as  such,  fade  away."  Mem- 
ory is  now  almost  entirely  concrete,  and  the  infant 
cannot  reason  because  he  has  no  frontage.  The  im- 
agination is  active  but  crude;  as  his  intellect  awakes 
the  child  questions  omnivorously,  but  he  is  credulous 
and  superstitious.  Religiously,  his  ideas  are  primitive; 
conscience  is  vague;  he  is  "  an  innocent  Pharisee  ";  the 
will  is  as  yet  untrained  and  uncontrolled;  endeavor  is 
wholly  self-regarding,  and  the  infant's  religious  life 
consists  simply  in  practising  the  things  that  he  has 
learned  are  right. 

Childhood  is  marked  by  less  violent 

but  more  self-directed  physical  activity; 
in  its  earlier  part  by  frequent  contests  with  the  con- 
tagious diseases,  and  a  further  struggle  for  constitu- 
tional vitality  (with  a  peculiarly  sickly  year  at  about 
eight);  the  development  of  the  higher  instincts  rather 
than  those  of  a  merely  animal  quality;  and  the  emerg- 
ence of  the  memory,  the  emotions,  the  imagination,  and 
the  self-consciousness.  This  period  is  a  continuation 
of  the  first  rather  than  the  introduction  to  the  third. 
These  first  two  form  that  age  of  immaturity  and  de- 
pendence, longer  than  that  granted  to  any  other  of  the 
animal  order,  given  to  childhood  for  its  protection  and 
preparation  in  the  home  and  the  school  for  the  larger 
tasks  of  social  and  independent  manhood. 

.  The  instinct  which  is  most  prominent 

in  Childhood        ^^  ^^^^  period  is  the  play-instinct.     It  is 

both  expression  and  means  of  education. 
It  expresses  the  awakening  instincts,  and  so  teaches  us 
what  the  child's  nature  is.     It  is  the  natural  way  by 

8 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

which  the  child  finds  out  things.  The  child's  manner 
of  play  at  different  ages  is  distinctive.  Mr.  Joseph  Lee 
classifies  the  child  in  play  as,  in  order,  in  the  dramatic, 
the  self-assertive,  and  the  loyalty  periods. 

The  infant  plays  alone,  by  creeping,  shaking,  fond- 
ling, etc.,  developing  the  simpler  instincts  through 
curiosity  and  experiment.  The  boy-child  begins  to 
imagine  and  to  personify  in  his  games,  and  wishes 
often  to  play  with  others.  But  that  this  social  instinct 
is  as  yet  incomplete  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  games 
it  is  each  one  for  himself;  the  team-work  so  admirable 
among  young  men  is  entirely  lacking,  and  even  in 
playing  team-games  each  player  seeks  his  own  glory 
and  repeatedly  sacrifices  the  welfare  of  the  team  to 
himself.  To  take  advantage  of  this  play-instinct, 
which  enfolds  in  itself  so  many  other  instincts,  is  the 
newest  problem  in  education. 

We  may  trust  the  school-teachers  to  utilize  this  play- 
instinct  to  its  fullest  in  the  schoolroom  in  so  far  as 
there  is  opportunity.  But  it  remains  for  us  in  the 
home  to  do  what  the  hurried  teacher  has  little  chance 
to  do,  —  develop  and  encourage  that  side  of  the  in- 
stinct which  is  expressed  in  the  exercises  of  dramatic 
play  and  story-telling.  If  we  are  to  have  a  generation 
of  men  who  are  more  than  money-grubbers,  there  must 
be  a  long  era  of  free  fancy  in  childhood,  and,  what  with 
fairies  driven  out  of  the  forests,  and  the  forests  them- 
selves cut  down,  and  Santa  Claus  exiled  from  the  home, 
and  gnomes  unknown  in  the  firelight,  —  because  we 
have  no  more  firelight  in  our  modern  houses,  —  it  is  a 
very  hard  thing  to  do.  Something  may  be  accom- 
plished by  people  who  are  willing  to  try  to  do  what 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

Alice  did  after  the  White  Rabbit  left  her  —  find  the 
golden  key  and  peer  once  again  into  that  Wonderland 
where  Master  Fourfeetfour  lives,  into  which  it  is  no  use 
to  hope  to  enter  unless  one  performs  that  feat  so  much 
harder  than  being  a  child,  namely,  becoming  one. 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  proper  state  of  mind 
possible  to  an  adult  seems  to  be  to  be  rested  and  to 
try  to  look  pleasant.  This  is  the  only  feeble  imitation  of 
perpetual  youth  which  most  of  us  can  reach,  but  it  may 
do  as  a  point  of  contact.  It  is  as  important  for  a  parent 
to  take  time  to  be  happy  as  to  take  time  to  be  holy. 

A  friend  of  mine  has  remarked  that  when  the  Al- 
mighty made  the  first  man  he  made  the  world  signifi- 
cant, but  that  when  he  made  the  first  boy  he  made  it 
interesting.  He  further  went  on  to  say  that  if  God 
made  man  out  of  dust,  he  surely  made  boys  out  of 
dust  and  electricity.  "  It  is  the  electricity  that  con- 
stitutes the  boy  problem." 

...         .  The  electricity  of  childhood  consists 

of  Life  chiefly  of  Avidness  of  Life.     The  boy  is 

all  alive  and  alive  all  the  time.  His 
tendency  to  yell  is  simply  the  escape-valve  of  periodic 
physical  explosions.  Neither  the  good  nor  the  bad 
boy  dies  young.  By  ten  years  of  age  the  boy  is  per- 
fectly healthy,  having  had  all  the  contagious  diseases, 
except  falling  in  love.  He  goes  to  bed  dressed  in 
order  to  be  up  in  time  for  the  whole  of  an  anticipated 
to-morrow.  It  is  hard  to  get  him  to  bed  at  all,  he  is 
so  afraid  some  fun  may  happen  in  the  world  while  he 
is  asleep  that  he  may  miss.  It  is  this,  I  am  sure,  more 
than  fears  of  what  some  one  calls  "  the  predatory 
dark,"  that  makes  him  linger.     And  much  of  the  time 

10 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

when  he  is  awake  he  is  like  the  man  Paul  knew,  caught 
up  into  the  third  heaven,  and  whether  in  the  body  or 
out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell,  God  knoweth.  His  con- 
ception of  being  grown  up  is,  like  what  Ian  Maclaren 
said  was  the  English  business  man's  idea  of  heaven, 
a  social  function  to  which  an  invitation  is  an  honor, 
but  which  it  must  be  highly  tiresome  to  attend. 

To    children    everything    is    in    the 
of  I^w  Kingdom  of  Now.     Material^  are  gath- 

ered from  its  oldest  sources,  but  they 
are  all  stamped  with  to-day.  You  have  heard 
of  the  Sunday-school  teacher  who  told  the  story  of 
Elijah  with  a  vividness  born  of  a  trained  pedagogue's 
instinct,  and  bethought  herself  at  the  close  to  ask  the 
boys  at  what  era  they  supposed  his  heroic  deeds 
occurred.  "  Last  week  "  was  the  unanimous  response. 
As  boys,  "  we  were  the  new  heirs  of  creation  not  yet 
finished,  and  taking  kindly  to  our  original  dust.  If 
our  sires  were  already  looking  forward  to  an  inheritance 
beyond  the  grave,  to  us  more  particularly  belonged  the 
earth  and  the  fulness  thereof.  We  possessed  the  land 
and  the  sea.  We  diffused  our  own  radiance,  and  the 
very  skies  were  blue  for  our  sake." 

Cannot  we  keep  this  winsome  eagerness  which  so  few 
adults  of  our  time  have  succeeded  in  retaining?  Or 
must  we  crush  it  out  in  the  processes  of  education? 
Dr.  Stanley  Hall  once  said  that  the  real  fall  of  man 
is  to  do  things  without  zest. 

I  spoke  of  the  instincts  as  tendrils. 

of  the  Instincts    "^^^V    ^^®    ^^^    tendrils    of    character. 

The  trite  analogy  of  the  tadpole  is  the 

most  forceful  one  we  have.    The  tadpole  has  a  tail, 

11 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

which  disappears  when  he  becomes  a  frog.  Appar- 
ently we  might  as  well  amputate  this  useless  and  un- 
sightly appendage,  but  if  we  do  we  shall  never  have  a 
fully  developed  frog.  These  savage  instincts  have  no 
place  in  mature  manhood,  but  if  we  commit  surgery 
upon  them,  instead  of  using  hygiene,  we  shall  never 
get  real  manhood.  Dr.  Balliet  was  referring  to  the 
instinct  of  pugnacity  once  when  he  said:  "  If  you  crush 
the  fighting  instinct,  you  get  the  x9wp^  ;  if  you  let  it 
grow  wijd,  you  have  thfeJjuUy;  if  you  train  it,  you  have 
the  strong,  self-controlled  man  of  will."  « 

It  was  Dr.  Balliet,  again,  who  remarked  that  the 
instincts  form  what  has  been  known  as  "  original  sin." 
Gerald  Stanley  Lee  has  also  said  that  "  the  mischief 
in  a  boy  is  the  entire  basis  of  his_  education.  A  boy 
could  be  made  into  a  man  out  of  the  parts  of  him  that 
his  parents  and  teachers  are  trying  to  throw  away." 
Now,  of  course,  it  is  nonsense  to  say  that  original  sin, 
or  any  other,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  holiness. 
The  query  is  whether  we  have  been  correct  in  calling 
mischief  and  natural  instincts  original  sin,  when  their 
chief  harm  is  not  that  they  are  wrong,  but  that  we 
adults  find  them  annoying.  Is  it  not  possible  that  if 
we  take  out  of  a  boy,  or  neglect  in  our  intercourse  with 
him,  the  desire  to  play,  move  about,  make  a  noise,  and 
find  out  things  by  experiment,  to  whittle,  camp  out, 
and  give  shows,  we  are  using  surgery  where  simple 
hygiene  is  called  for?  "  I  am  the  tadpole  of  an  arch- 
angel," Victor  Hugo  once  extravagantly  exclaimed. 
Even  in  making  archangels  it  seems  extremely  probable 
that  we  must  expect  and  await  the  tadpole  stage.  If 
the    man    is    to   retain    a   wholesome    humanism   it 

12 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

must  emerge  from  the  joyous   savagery  of  his  own 
childhood. 

The  years  between  five  and  twelve  in  childhood  are 
the  seven  full  years  of  Joseph's  vision,  during  which 
the  chief  part  of  wisdom  is  to  store  up  food  for  the 
leaner  years  that  are  to  come. 

During  this  period  the  boy  has  been 
in  Childhood  changing  from  a  bundle;  of  instijicts  to 
a  bundle  of  habits.  The  trails  are  be- 
coming  well-traveled  roads.  Boyhood  is  the  tijne  for 
forming  habits,  as  adolescence  is  the  time  for  shaping 
id^ls.  This  is  the  era  for  conscience-building,  as  the 
latter  is  the  era  for  will-training.  Politeness,  moral  con- 
duct, and  even  religious  observance  may  now  be  made 
so  much  a  matter  of  course  that  they  will  never  seem 
foreign.  The  possibilities  for  wise  parenthood  to  pre- 
empt the  young  soul  for  goodness  are  incalculable.  We 
who  are  older  know,  as  children  cannot,  that  the  habits 
formed  in  this  period  are  strongly  determinative  of  the 
future  trend  toward  righteousness  or  wrong.  Upon 
the  very  molecules  themselves  an  implacable  and  un- 
erasable  register  is  being  made. 

One  reason  why  this  is  true  is  because  verbal  memory 
is  more  acute  than  at  any  other  period.  "  The  best 
period  for  learning  a  foreign  language  ends  before 
fourteen."  This  power  of  absorption  forms  the  char- 
acteristic of  this  second  period.  Our  duty  now  is  to 
feed  the  child.  The  boy  of  this  period  who  was  asked 
what  he  regarded  as  the  essentials  of  a  good  church 
boys'  club  and  who  replied  succinctly,  "  Feed  and  fun,'* 
Bummed  up  the  needs  of  his  age  most  excellently.  The 
boy  can  absorb  more  nutriment  and  also  more  informa- 

13 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

tion,  more  helpful  or  hurtful  facts,  more  proverbs  of 
wisdom,  more  Scripture  and  hymns,  for  future  use,  than 
ever  again  in  his  life.  In  this  absorptive  rather  than 
in  an  originative  quaUty  is  the  strong  distinction  be- 
tween this  period  and  that  which  follows. 

Another  reason  why  drill  counts  so 

A  org  QJ  Lft\^ 

strongly  in  this  period  is  because  it  is 
peculiarly  the  Age  pf  JjSlw.  Sir  Joshua  Fitch  says  it  cor- 
responds to  the  Exodus  and  Leviticus  stage  of  Israel's 
development.  Children  now  have  the  sense  of  authority 
and  conformity  even  in  their  games.  All  adults  are  to 
them  gigantic  Olympians,  and  they  are  willing  to  accept 
the  dictates  of  these  lawgivers  without  asking  why. 

Together  with  the  ideas  and  ideals 
Personal  which  the  boy  absorbs  by  precept  and 

Responsibility  imitation  there  begins  to  appear  some- 
time .  during  this  period  the  Sense  of 
Personal  Responsibility.  This  manifests  itself  not  in 
the  form  of  intellectual  doubt  or  deep  inquiry,  but 
rather  in  the  acknowledgment  of  being  under  law.  The 
dawn  of  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  is  often 
most  painful.  In  infancy  conscience  was  mostly  hear- 
say, and  the  child  would  tjow  fain  prolong  his  too  brief 
lease  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  But  here  stands  the  angel 
of  the  flaming  sword  to  tell  him  that  henceforth  he 
must  earn  his  own  moral  decisions  and,  what  is  imme- 
diately more  bitter,  suffer  for  his  own  mistakes  and  mis- 
deeds. Life  is  no  longer  merely  a  play,  with  acted 
parts.     It  is  now  the  real  thing. 

The  boy  of  this   age  is  not  mere 

animal.    His   emotional    instincts   are 

growing.    And  of  these  love  is  one  of  the  deepest  and 

14 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

one  of  the  first.  Although  it  be  true,  as  Paolo  Lom- 
broso  says,  that  "  the  child  tends  not  to  love  but  to 
be  loved  and  exclusively  loved,"  yet  his  early  attacks 
of  love  mark  the  brightening  dawn  of  the  social  and 
altruistic  instincts;  and  so  love  for  mother,  for  teacher, 
for  some  older  fri^ndjwho  is  an  idea[,  love  for  truth 
which  is  so  startling^in  the  unperverted  child,  love  for 
God  and  good  thinga.^sJieand  they  are  understood,  — 
these  are  all  characteristic  of  the~warm-hearted  days 
of  boyhood. 

"  But,"  adds  an  unknown  writer,  "  nothing  was  so 
rare  among  us  as  a  self-confessed  and  mortified  sinner; 
for  in  those  days  our  sins  distinguished  us  more  than 
our  virtues  did  afterward.  Besides,  humility  was  an 
unknown  sentimentality  with  us.  Our  very  Pharisa- 
ism consisted  in  thanking  our  heavenly  bodies  that  we 
were  not  as  good  as  some  were."  The  religious  life  of 
a  normal  boy  between  six  and  twelve  consists  of  good 
will  and  good_conduct. 

The  psychologist,  who  believes  that 
th^^R  "^T?f  ^^^^  child  reproduces  the  Race  Life,  re- 
gards the  years  of  infancy  as  rehearsals 
of  prehistoric  and  feral  ages,  and  the  years  of  early 
childhood  as  reproductions  of  the  protracted  and  rela- 
tively stationary  periods  of  the  barbarian  days.  It  is 
because  these  ages  were  so  long  and  so  deep,  because 
man  has  been  a  savage  so  much  longer  than  he  has  been 
a  Christian,  that  this  subconscious  heritage  needs  to 
be  recognized,  and  the  work  of  habit-making,  which 
is  the  analogue  of  that  past,  must,  during  childhood,  be 
made  the  central  endeavor  of  all  nurture.  This  work 
of  nurture  Dr.  Coe  finely  calls  "  capturing  a  boy's  pre- 

15 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

suppositions."  It  is  conscience-building.  We  do  well 
probably  to  button  our  own  moral  codes,  like  aprons, 
around  the  child  for  a  time,  but  we  do  better  if  we  train 
him  always  to  "  speak  the  truth  in  his  heart." 

These  barbarous  manifestations  are  modified  con- 
stantly by  the  fact  that  the  child  is  living  in  modern 
conditions  and  influences.  Says  an  editorial  writer  in 
the  Independent:  "  We  were  cave-dwellers  who  stormed 
sixteenth  century  castles;  Roman  centurions  setting  up 
modern  republics;  we  were  Don  Quixotes  in  valor; 
martyrs  and  fanatics  in  rehgion,  but  at  heart  we 
were  always  communists,  who  understood  the  com- 
mon law  of  possession  better  than  some  latter-day 
economists." 

In  summary,  we  may  call  this  the  Old  Testament  era 
of  the  boy's  life.  The  Bible,  that  marvelous  manual 
of  pedagogy,  has  been  thought  to  reflect  in  either  Tes- 
tament childhood  and  adolescence.  "  The  key  of  the 
Old  Testament,"  says  Sheldon,  "  is  obedience."  This 
we  have  said  is  the  key  to  childhood.  The  law  must 
come  before  the  gospel,  the  era  of  nature  before  the  era 
of  grace.  Those  old  heroes  were  only  great  big  boys, 
and  it  is  an  underlying  sympathy  with  them  which 
explains  why  boys  of  this  age  prefer  the  Old  Testar 
ment  to  the  New.  There  are  sound  reasons  why  it 
should  first  be  taught  them. 

Especially  in  religious  ideas  are  boys 

?*^?.??t.    ^        under  twelve  much  like  the  ancients. 

in  Childhood        ,,         ^.         ^,  ^     ,,  xi.         u 

Many  times  they  actually  pass  through 

the  stages  of  religion  passed  through  by  primitive 

peoples,  namely,  nature  worship,  mythology,  fetichistic 

superstition.    The  contents  of  many  a  boy's  mind  and 

16 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

pocket  reveal  a  recourse  to  charms,  incantations,  and 
anthropomorphisms.  At  the  best  the  God  of  one's 
childhood  is  but  a  great  man,  and  it  is  a  solemnizing 
fact  that  he  often  bears  the  face  and  nature  of  the 
child's  own  earthly  father. 

"  Having  no  enemies  to  forgive,  our  prayers  were 
short,  but  our  faith  was  expansive.  We  believed 
everything  and  sighed  for  more.  Somewhere  in  the 
cool  green  shadows  were  good  spirits  that  we  never 
saw,  whose  influence  our  little  pagan  souls  confessed. 
We  dealt  in  miracles  and  prophecies  as  sincerely  as  ever 
did  a  Hebrew  prophet.  A  chirruping  cricket  was  the 
harbinger  of  fortune;  if  the  leaves  of  a  little  whirlwind 
passed  but  once  around  our  devoted  heads  we  were 
invincible,  and  should  a  butterfly  chance  to  brush 
our  cheek  with  its  happy  wings,  that  was  a  token  of 
joys  to  come.  All  things  were  to  us  the  signs  of 
blessings." 

Dr.  Coe,  in  tracing  the  normal  religious  development 
of  a  child  of  this  period,  shows  that  from  the  first  the 
sense  of  dependence,  which  is  the  oldest  and  earliest 
type  of  religion,  is  answered  to  by  a  world  of  persons 
in  the  home.  During  this  nature-worship  period  the 
child  is  led  to  discriminate  between  his  parent  and 
God.  The  age  of  fairy  tale  that  follows  corresponds  to 
the  myth-making  period  in  history;  and  here,  again, 
the  question-impulse  leads  the  child  on  into  a  world 
of  higher  and  truer  ideals.  Then  in  the  law-period 
"  the  family  is  the  moral  universe  of  the  child,"  but 
the  child  soon  discovers  that  "  the  parents  are  not  the 
source  of  the  law  but  the  subjects  of  it,  and  so  he 
projects  into  his  ideal  world  a  supreme  moral  will." 

17 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

. ,  ,  Adolescence  is  bounded  at  the  be- 

Adolcscciicc 

ginning  by  approachin^^jiuberty,  and  at 

the  end  by  complete  manhopd.  The  so-called  Ameri- 
can boy,  who  was  really  a  Persian  in  his  love  of  war, 
or  an  Athenian  each  day  telling  or  hearing  some  new 
thing,  or  a  Hindu  in  his  dreams,  or  a  Hebrew  in  his 
business  sense,  is  rapidly  coming  down  through  the 
millenniums,  and  has  reached  the  days  of  Bayard  and 
Siegfried  and  Launcelot. 

It  is  the  time  of  change.  By  fifteen  the  brain  stops 
growing  in  girth,  the  large  arteries  increase  one-third, 
the  temperature  rises  one  degree,  the  reproductive 
organs  have  functioned,  the  voice  dfeepens,  the  stature 
grows  by  bounds,  and  the  body  needs  more  sleep  and 
food  than  ever  before. 

.  "  Puberty,"  says  Dr.  W.  S.  Christo- 

^— -  pher,  ''  is  the  period  of  greatest  strength 

and  endurance  and  capacity  for  the 
mass  of  children.  It  is  also  the  period  of  life  when 
every  feature  of  the  physical  being  finds  its  greatest 
range  of  variety  among  individuals."  It  is  the  emo- 
tional age.  No  songs  are  too  gay,  no  sorrows  ever  so 
tearful.  It  is  the  time  for  slang,  because  no  words  in 
any  dictionary  can  possibly  express  all  that  crowds  to 
utterance.  It  is  the  time  for  falling  in  love  most 
thoughtlessly  and  most  unselfishly.  The  child  wants 
to  be  entertained  constantly.  This  is  a  natural  con- 
dition. "It  is  as  necessary  to  develop  the  blood- 
vessels of  a  boy  as  crying  is  those  of  a  baby."  It  is  the 
enthusiastic  age.  The  masklike,  impassive  face  at  this 
age  is  a  sign  of  a  loss  of  youth  or  of  purity.  "  He  who 
is  a  man  at  sixteen  will  be  a  child  at  sixty." 

18 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

This  emotional,  restless  disposition,  which  is  so 
closely  associated  with  rapid  and  uneven  growth,  the 
new  sense  of  power  and  of  self-life  and  dreams  of 
adventure,  is  often  manifested  in  a  craving  to  roam, 
to  run  away  from  home,  to  go  to  sea. 

There  is  a  certain  wild  generousness  and  rude  piety 
about  this  adventure-period.  With  what  brilliant  in- 
sight Mr.  G.  K.  Chesterton  has  characterized  itl  "This 
feeling  for  strange  faces  and  strange  lives,  when  it 
is  felt  keenly  by  a  young  man,  almost  always  ex- 
presses itself  in  a  desire  after  a  kind  of  vagabond 
beneficence,  a  desire  to  go  through  the  world  scattering 
goodness  like  a  capricious  god." 

Physical  restlessness  is  often  associated  with  intel- 
lectual restlessness  and  curiosity.  It  is  a  time  of  stub- 
born doubts,  painful  and  dangerous,  but  signs  of  mental 
and  moral  health.  Starbuck  fixes  the  acme  of  the 
doubt-period  at  eighteen.  Together  with  the  doubts 
there  is  frequently  an  obstinate  positiveness,  so  that, 
as  Gulick  says,  "  The  boy  is  a  skeptic  and  a  partisan  at 
the  same  time."  For  several  years  after  twelve  a  boy 
is  apt  to  be  filled  with  the  feeling  that  there  is  some- 
thing about  himself -^hat  needs  to  be  settled. 

This  widening  of  interests,  emotional 
Social^vel-  ^^^  intellectual,  is  accompanied  by  a 
opment  during  ,      ,  .   ,    ,  ,      ;  „„  .»      • 

Adolescence^  gradual  social  broadenmg.  While  m 
-^  ■  *  *  the  early  part  of  this  period  egoistic 
emotions  are  apt  to  be  disagreeably  expressed,  vented  "^ 
sometimes  in  bullying  and  again,  in  an  opposite  way, 
by  extreme  self-consciousness  and  bashfulness,  this 
sooner  or  later  develops  into  a  clearer  recognition  of 
one's  self  and  a  finer  recognition  of  others.     Adoles- 

10 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

cence  has  been  termed  an  unselfing.  There  is  a  yearn- 
ing to  be  with  and  for  one's  kind.  This  is  seen  in  the 
growing  team-work  spirit  in  games,  in  the  various  clubs 
which  now  spring  up  almost  spontaneously,  in  the 
slowly  increasing  interest  in  social  gatherings  and  in 
the  other  sex. 

The  suddenness  with  which  loyalty 

^^'— ^ —        to  the  gang  is  felt  is  illustrated  by  this 

story  told  by  Mr.  M.  D.  Crackel,  superintendent  of  the 
West  Side  Boys'  Club  of  Cleveland.  The  boys  were 
lining  up  on  the  gymnasium  floor  for  a  game.  Two 
divisions  were  being  formed  by  taking  each  alternate 
boy.  For  convenience,  one  group  was  designated  the 
"A's,"  the  other  the  *'  B's."  The  leader  found  that  a 
mista,ke  had  been  made  in  counting,  and  he  asked  the 
nearest  boy  to  transfer  from  one  side  to  the  other. 
"Not  much!"  responded  the  loyal  lad;  "  I'm  an  'A' 
man  to  the  backbone  1  " 

Mr.  J.  Lewis  Baton,  the  headmaster  of  the  Manches- 
ter, England,  high  school,  illustrates  how  readily  this 
gang-spirit  begins  to  shape  ethical  codes  of  conduct  by 
the  following  incident:  When  Wellington  College  was 
founded,  it  was  arranged,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion, 
that  one  half  the  boys  should  report  on  Monday  and 
the  remaining  half  on  Tuesday.  One  boy  came  on 
Tuesday,  and  in  the  course  of  a  stroll  proceeded  to 
make  a  suggestion  to  one  of  the  veterans  of  Monday. 
He  proposed  a  certain  line  of  action,  whereupon  the 
veteran  observed,  "  We  don't  have  anything  of  that 
sort  here." 

It  is  probably  from  the  gang  that  most  boys  learn 
first  how  to  codify  their  conduct,  and  while  this  code  of 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

honor  is  imperfect,  it  is  apt  to  be  pretty  sound.  This 
list  of  "  things  a  feller  won't  do  "  soon  becomes  such 
a  mighty  judgment  of  the  individual  conscience  that, 
as  Mr.  Paton  goes  on  to  say,  *'  Of  no  other  society  can 
it  be  said  with  more  truth  that  whatsoever  sins  it  re- 
mits, they  are  remitted,  and  whatsoever  sins  it  retains, 
they  are  retained."  Parents  may  have  slaved  a  life 
long;  they  may  have  made  the  inculcation  of  morals 
a  daily  care;  these  new  companions  have  been  known 
only  six  days,  but  they  are  Public  Opinion. 

The  fact  that  the  gang-spirit  is  born  in  play  no  doubt 
explains  its  fascination.  As  Jean  Paul  says,  "  The  first 
social  fetters  are  woven  of  flowers." 

The  code  of  the  boys'  gang  has  the  same  fundamental 
element  as  that  of  the  thieves'  gang  —  loyalty.  Whether 
it  has  more  than  that  depends  upon  who  is  the  leader. 
Now  loyalty  is  a  much  overestimated  virtue.  It  means 
little  more  than  organized  selfishness.  As  Miss  Addams 
has  pointed  out,  it  relates  itself  to  medievalism  and  is 
not  near  so  fine  a  thing  as  companionship.  Loyalty 
means  to  follow  a  leader,  to  protect  each  other,  right  or 
wrong,  and  often  to  prey  upon  outsiders.  It  means 
that  in  nations  as  well  as  in  gangs.  But  companion- 
ship is  loyalty  lifted  up  to  the  level  of  following  not  a 
leader,  but  an  ideal,  doing  things  not  because  the 
strongest  says  so,  but  because  they  represent  the  ideals 
of  the  group.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  height  of  level 
to  which  companionship,  under  enlightened  direction, 
may  carry  a  group  of  boys.  An  Early  Risers'  Bible 
Class  and  a  Student  Volunteer  Band  are  the  incredible 
actualities  found  among  groups  of  boys  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  even  if  they  represent 

21 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

artificial  standards  and  forced  precocity,  they  seem  to 
be  genuinely  pursued  and  enjoyed. 

The  way  the  gang-ethics  evolve  is  through  the  mob- 
spirit  —  that  blind,  conscienceless  movement  of  men 
when  in  contact,  which  is  seen  in  such  extremes  of 
manifestation  as  the  French  Revolution  and  the  modern 
revival  meeting.  Its  result  is  conduct  with  and  for  the 
tribe  such  as  no  boy  would  ever  think  of  accomplishing 
when  by  himself,  a  sort  of  least  common  denominator 
of  the  ethics  of  the  constituent  individuals.  A  group 
of  boys  is  on  its  way  to  school.  They  pass  beneath 
Farmer  Snodgrass'  overhanging  apple-trees.  One  boy 
has  a  stick  in  his  hand,  and  as  he  carelessly  throws  it 
up  into  a  tree  it  brings  down  an  apple.  "  I'll  bet  you 
can't  do  that,"  he  remarks  to  his  nearest  companion. 
That  lad,  to  make  sure,  tries  it  with  a  stone  and  suc- 
ceeds. Others  grasp  stones  and  make  the  same  ex- 
periment. It  is  not  long  before  all  are  up  in  the  tree, 
pocketing  and  throwing  down  apples.  No  one  of  them 
wants  any  apples;  all  have  just  had  breakfast,  and 
there  are  apples  in  plenty  at  home,  but  the  contagion 
of  the  group  has  carried  them  whither  they  would  not. 
The  boy  who  can  resist  such  an  influence,  electric  with 
enthusiasm  and  barbed  by  ridicule,  either  upon  any  one 
occasion  or  continuously,  is  either  a  natural-born 
leader  of  others  or  a  misanthrope. 

The  dangers  of  the  gang  are  at  first 
S^^lin^  sight  more  obvious  than  the  opportu- 

nities. Yet  there  are  some  things  a  boy 
learns  through  the  gang  which  he  can  learn  in  no  other 
way.  When  I  see  a  city  boy  who  wears  gloves  and  has 
the  high  hand-shake,  I  wish  fervently  that  the  gang 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

might  get  hold  of  him.  The  only  place  where  a  boy 
can  learn  the  brotherhood  of  man  is  in  the  school 
of  the  gang.  Sometime  in  adolescence,  probably  be- 
tween fourteen  and  eighteen,  most  boys  have  what 
might  be  called  an  anti-domestic  instinct.  They 
would  rather  be  anywhere  else  than  at  home.  This 
truancy  from  the  home  is  because  the  home,  and  par- 
ticularly the  modern  home  of  one  or  two  children,  is 
not  a  large  enough  social  circle  for  the  suddenly  ex- 
panded heart  of  the  boy.  Out  among  his  peers  God 
intends  that  he  shall  go,  to  give  and  take,  to  mitigate 
his  own  selfishness  and  to  gain  the  masculine  standpoint 
which  his  mother,  his  nurse,  and  his  school-teacher  can- 
not give,  and  to  exercise  a  new  power,  which  is  one  of  ' 
the  most  precious  ever  given  to  man,  that  of  making 
friendships. 

The  centripetal  power  of  a  gang  is  almost  always 
represented  in  one  person.  If  he  be  within  the  gang, 
as  is  usually  the  case,  it  is  that  virile  lad  who  has 
constituted  himself  the  chieftain.  He  is  the  key-boy 
of  the  group.  If  it  be  a  person  outside  the  gang,  it  is 
the  adult  whom  the  group  has  agreed  to  make  its  hero. 

_      „,     . .  For  the  thing  that  is  at  the  bottom 

Hero- Worship         -    ,,  ^    i      i  •  j 

of  the   most  lawless  gang  is   a  good 

thing.  It  is  hero-worship,  and  hero-worship  is,  of 
course,  a  form  of  idealism.  Some  one  has  said  that  y/^ 
boys  always  idealize  in  biography.  They  don't  crave 
to  be  chaste,  honest,  religious,  and  no  boy  Ukes  to  be 
called  "  a  good  boy,"  but  they  are  quite  willing  to  be 
like  strong  men  who  may  perhaps  have  all  these  quali- 
ties. For  it  is  strength  that  makes  a  man  a  boy's  hero. 
He  likes  the  dime  novel,  because  men  there  are  fierce 

23 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

and  forceful.  He  would  much  rather  shake  hands  with 
Jim  Jeffries  than  with  G.  Campbell  Morgan.  On  the 
walls  of  his  room  the  portraits  of  Theodore  Roosevelt 
and  the  latest  prize-ring  champion  face  you  side  by- 
side,  because  each  in  his  way  is  strong.  So  of  his  con- 
temporaries. It  is  not  the  godly  deacon  to  whom  he 
doffs  his  cap,  but  the  brawny,  profane  blacksmith,  the 
adventurous  blackleg,  the  tramp  with  a  story,  who 
really  win  his  admiration.  It  may  partly  be  the  fas- 
cination of  meeting  men  who  are  still  in  the  feral  state 
that  helps  account  for  the  strange  associates  whom 
he  craves.  And  so  the  gang  leader  is  the  strongest  boy, 
and  the  gang  wants  to  do  strenuous  things  and  the 
^     gang's  ideals  are  physical  and  brutal. 

Yet,  strangely  enough,  sympathy  is  a  quality  which 
also  wins  a  boy  or  a  gang  of  boys.  The  tramp  is  a 
hail-fellow-well-met.  The  seducer  of  boys  is  senti- 
mental with  them.  And  the  reason  why  women  some- 
times get  into  the  confidence  of  the  gang,  and  even 
become  gang  leaders,  is  because  they  sometimes  try  to 
know  how  a  boy  feels.  A  boy  loves,  in  his  hours  of 
gloom,  to  share  with  some  understanding  heart  that 
self-pity  which  is  one  of  humanity's  moody  luxuries,  or 
to  tell  over,  in  hours  of  gladness,  the  garrulous  annals 
of  a  day  of  joy.  And  we  all  know  what  a  word  of 
encouragement  has  often  meant  to  a  boy. 

"  Your  son  Tom  seems  to  have  gotten  over  being 
round-shoiildered.  Every  time  I've  seen  him  lately 
he's  been  standing  up  like  a  man." 

"  Yes,  after  years  of  scolding  him  for  his  stooping 
I  tried  a  new  plan." 

"  What  was  it?  " 

24 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

\      "I  said  to  him,  one  day,  *  Tom,  what  a  magnificent 
chest  you  have! '  " 

It  is  an  interesting  question  as  to  whether  it  is  the 
duty  of  adults  to  encourage  or  to  ignore  this  gang 
instinct.  Social  workers  are  divided  in  opinion.  Some 
woo  boys  by  trying  to  turn  street  gangs  into  house 
clubs,  and  discipline  them,  when  they  become  ob- 
streperous, by  turning  them  all  out  and  then  readmit- 
ting all  but  the  ringleader.  Others  put  boys  of  the 
same  gang  into  different  clubs  and  never  allow  a  boy 
to  remain  with  the  same  group  a  second  winter. 

As  for  myself,  I  have  always  stood  for 
th^"G  ^^^   gai^g-     I    have   found   in    church 

work  that,  no  matter  how  carefully  one 
tries  to  reach  boys  individually,  the  results  he  gets  are 
gang  results.  Strong-willed  boys  lead  the  gang  even 
into  religious  confession.  Weak-willed  boys  follow, 
and  their  own  decisions  are  confirmed  by  the  action  of 
the  group.  I  have  seen  a  gang  reverse  its  ways  under 
tactful  guidance.  I  remember  once  having  a  group  of 
street  lads  associated  with  me  in  an  organization  of 
boy  knighthood  in  a  church,  who  became  leaders  in 
getting  up  a  fair  on  the  parsonage  grounds.  Some  of 
their  schoolmates,  passing  by,  began  to  throw  stones 
over  upon  the  tents.  Instantly  their  war-cry  rang  out, 
"  Knights  of  King  Arthur  to  the  rescue  I ''  and  the 
whole  group,  which  a  few  weeks  before  would  have 
heartily  engaged  in  the  same  act  of  mischief,  sallied 
out,  with  equal  heartiness,  to  chastise  the  marauders. 

In  the  home,  at  any  rate,  I  think  our  best  part  is  to 
use  the  gang  for  all  it  is  worth,  to  chaperon  it  unob- 
trusively, to  win  its  gratitude  by  suggesting  fun  when 

25 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

its  own  resources  give  out,  and  to  try  to  enter  into  its 
activities  with  something  more  than  a  spirit  of  resigna- 
tion. I  said  "  the  gang,"  but  I  ought  to  have  said 
the  gangSf  for  the  pecuUarity  of  brothers  is  that  they 
never  play  together  when  they  can  play  with  an  out- 
sider, and  they  never  belong  to  the  same  gang.  The 
vaccine  of  maternal  sympathy  generally  makes  the 
gang  instinct  harmless,  for  it  is  to  be  noticed  that 
the  worst  boy,  if  he  is  a  visitor  and  is  watched,  be- 
comes bland  and  plastic  and  even  almost  pious. 

The  boy  I  pity  is  the  boy  who  is  the  outsider,  poor 
little  old  man,  who  has  not  been  admitted  into  any  of 
the  mystic  fraternities  of  the  playground,  and  whose 
resource  has  to  be  books  and  botanizing  and  playing 
with  girls  or  little  boys!  I  don't  know  whether  he 
misses  as  much  as  he  seems  to,  or  is  as  lonely  as  he 
looks,  but  while  I  have  a  fancy  that  he  usually  grows 
up  to  be  very  rich  or  very  good,  I  also  feel  that  he  is 
always  an  exile  from  paradise. 

This  is  also  a  time  of  moral  activity 
Spiritual  and  ideals.     "A  new  dimension,  that  of 

diX^°^°'^''*  depth,  is  being  added."  "  Character  in 
Adolescence  infancy  is  all  instinct;  in  childhood  it  is 

slowly  made  over  into  habits;  at  adoles- 
cence it  can  be  cultivated  through  ideals."  Boys  now 
begin  to  day-dream  and  make  large  plans.  A  boy  is 
capitalized  hope.  He  may  become  morbidly  conscien- 
tious or  painfully  exercised  with  the  search  for  absolute 
truth.  Those  very  emotions  which  lead  to  bullying 
and  showing  off  are  capable  of  being  diverted  into 
courage  and  chivalry.  This  is  the  age  of  hero-worship. 
On  conversion  at  this  age  many  are  eager  to  exercise 

26 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

their  social  consciousness  and  emulate  their  heroes  by 
becoming  ministers  or  missionaries  or  slum  workers  or 
men  of  achievement.  Boy-ideals  are  always  immediate. 
Like  a  vine,  they  must  twine  around  some  standard. 
As  Prof.  H.  M.  Burr  says,  *'  If  the  boy's  ideal  of  man- 
hood is  Fitzsimmons,  he  immediately  sets  about  punch- 
ing some  other  boy's  head.  If  he  thinks  the  life  of  an 
Indian  the  ideal,  he  straightway  takes  to  the  woods  or 
whoops  it  up  in  the  alley,  as  the  case  may  be."  For 
this  reason  the  wise  boys'  club  leader  who  proposes  an  j 
attractive  new  plan  will  take  heed  always  to  carry  it  I 
into  effect  at  the  very  next  meeting.  The  encourage- 
ment and  direction  of  these^deals  into  orderly  and 
definite  channels  is  a  matter  of  infinite  importance. 

But  the  peculiarity  of  this  period  that  most  attracts 
attention  is  that  of  crisis.  It  seems  to  be  well  proven 
that  there  comes  a  time  in  the  adolescence  of  almost 
every  boy  and  girl  when  the  various  physical  and 
moral  influences  of  the  life  bear  down  to  a  point  of 
depression,  and  then  rise  suddenly  in  an  ascending 
curve,  carrying  with  them  a  new  life.  There  is  first  a 
lull,  then  a  storm,  then  peace;  what  results  is  not  boy, 
but  man.  This  crisis,  in  religious  matters,  is  called 
conversion,  but  is  by  no  means  confined  to  or  peculiar 
to  religious  change.  "  It  is,"  says  Dr.  Hall,  "  a  natural 
regeneration."  If  the  Hughlings-Jackson  three-level 
theory  of  the  brain  be  true,  there  is  at  this  time  a  final 
and  complete  transfer  of  the  central  powers  of  the 
brain  from  the  lower  levels  of  instinct  and  motor  power 
to  the  higher  levels.  "  It  is,"  says  Lancaster,  "  the 
focal  point  of  all  psychology."  Dr.  Starbuck's  careful 
though  diffusive  study  shows  that  this  change  is  apt 

27 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

to  come  in  a  great  wave  at  about  fifteen  or  sixteen, 
preceded  by  a  lesser  wave  at  about  twelve,  and  followed 
by  another  at  about  seventeen  or  eighteen.  It  con- 
sists in  a  coming  out  from  the  little,  dependent,  irre- 
sponsible animal  self  into  the  larger,  independent, 
responsible,  outreaching  and  upreaching  moral  life 
of  manhood.  Professor  Coe  says:  "  I  do  not  think  it 
should  be  called  conversion,  but  commitment.  It  is  a 
ratification  rather  than  a  reversal."  He  also  shows 
that  the  first  wave  is  that  of  most  decided  religious 
impressibility  and  of  spontaneous  spiritual  awakening, 
although  the  number  of  conversions  that  can  be  dated 
is  greater  in  the  second  period. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  way  this  "  per- 
sonalizing of  religion,"  as  Coe  calls  it,  comes  to  boys 
and  to  girls.  With  boys  it  is  a  later,  a  more  violent, 
and  a  more  sudden  incident.  With  boys  it  is  more  apt 
to  be  associated  with  periods  of  doubt;  with  girls  with 
times  of  storm  and  stress.  It  seems  to  be  more  apt  to 
come  to  boys  when  alone;  to  girls  in  a  church  service. 

Next  to  the  physical  birth-hour  this  hour  of  psychical 
birth  is  most  critical.  For  "  at  this  formative  stage  " 
—  I  quote  from  the  Committee  on  Secondary  Educa- 
tion —  "  an  active  fermentation  occurs  that  may  give 
wine  or  vinegar."  "  This,"  says  President  Hall,  "  is 
the  day  of  grace  that  must  not  be  sinned  away." 

The  period  of  adolescence  is  by  many  divided  into 
three  stages,  embracing  respectively  the  ages  from 
twelve  to  sixteen,  sixteen  to  eighteen,  and  eighteen  to 
twenty-four.  These  might  be  termed  the  stages  of 
ferment,  crisis  and  reconstruction.  Mr.  E.  P.  St.  John 
classifies  them  as  physical,  emotional  and  intellectual 

28 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

stages.  Coe  marks  them  as  impulsive,  sentimental,  and 
reflective.  Rev.  Charles  E.  McKinley  marks  them  in 
character  as  solitary,  self-willed,  and  social,  and  in 
result  as  discovering  personal  freedom,  discovering 
life,  discovering  social  relations.  The  three  waves  of 
religious  interest  correspond  with  these  stages.  I  have 
not  attempted  to  classify  the  phenomena  of  these  stages 
here,  desiring  rather  to  give  the  impression  of  the 
period  as  a  whole.  Most  of  the  phenomena  which  I 
have  spoken  of  begin  in  the  earliest  stage,  reach  their 
culmination  in  the  second,  and  begin  in  the  third  to 
form  the  fabric  of  altruism  and  character.  Of  course 
the  instinctive,  the  sensuous,  and  the  sentimental  are 
apt  to  precede  the  rational  and  the  deliberative. 

While  we  may  not  pretend  to  comprehend  the  whole 
philosophy  of  the  entrance  into  the  religious  life,  there 
are  some  things  which  seem  to  be  assured.  Such  are 
these:  The  boy  is  not  irreUgious;  he  is  rather  in  the 
lower  stages  of  the  religious  life,  the  imitative,  habitu- 
ated, ethical  stages.  Conversion  is  the  human  act  of 
turning  to  God,  not  a  special  cataclysmal  kind  of  ex- 
perience during  that  act.  Mr.  E.  M.  Robinson  has  put 
the  various  ways  in  which  boys  seem  to  enter  the 
religious  life  in  a  homely  but  vivid  statement: 

"  Boys  enter  the  religious  life  in  at  least  as  many 
ways  as  they  enter  the  water  for  swimming:  (a)  Some 
plunge  in  —  a  definite  decision  which  settles  once  for 
all  what  their  attitude  toward  right  and  wrong  shall 
be,  what  their  relation  to  their  God  shall  be.  (6)  Some 
wade  in  —  deliberately,  cautiously,  step  by  step,  each 
step  revealing  that  another  step  is  desirable,  (c)  Some 
run  in  a  little  way  and  then  come  out  again,  but  con- 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

tinue  to  run  in  a  little  farther  each  time,  till  at  last 
they  swim  off  —  a  number  of  changes  of  mind,  {d} 
Some  are  forced  in.  They  may,  finding  themselves  in, 
decide  to  remain,  or  they  may  make  frantic  struggles 
to  get  out.  (e)  Some  sit  down  on  the  beach  and  simply 
let  the  tide  come  up  about  them,  till  it  floats  them  off  — 
by  not  resisting  the  tide  about  them  they  practically 
accept  the  situation.  A  boy  enters  the  religious  life 
by  deliberate,  comprehensive  decision,  by  an  accumu- 
lation of  little  decisions,  by  non-resistance  to  influence 
about  him,  which  is  a  decision.  In  all  cases,  by  his 
own  choice  accepting,  or  '  decision.'  " 

These  differences  seem  to  be  temperamental,  where 
they  are  not  partly  artificial.  The  kind  of  crisis  will 
be  of  the  kind  that  is  sought  for.  In  one  church  the 
child  is  taught  to  believe  that  he  is  by  the  covenant 
a  child  of  God.  At  adolescence  the  confirmation  class 
awaits  him  and  his  crisis  is  likely  to  be  one  of  forming 
fresh  ideals  only.  In  another  communion  boys  are 
told  that  they  are  children  of  the  world  and  the  flesh, 
if  not  of  the  devil,  and  they  expect,  strive  after,  and 
very  often  attain  a  very  sharp  crisis  of  definite  religious 
purpose. 

Nature  seems  to  point  to  a  proper  time  in  the  devel- 
opment of  a  boy  when  the  psychical  crisis  should  be 
expected  and  encouraged.  If  it  be  hastened,  John 
Stuart  Mill's  well-known  simile  applies,  that  such  chil- 
dren are  like  too  early  risers,  conceited  all  the  forenoon 
of  life  and  stupid  all  the  afternoon  and  evening.  If  it 
be  delayed,  conversion  is  apt  to  be  aridly  intellectual 
and  to  miss  that  emotional  glow  which  is  the  beautiful 
birthright  of  the  soul. 

ao 


SOCIAL       DEVELOPMENT 


We  are  evidently   approaching  the 
^the""^  End  of  the  Plastic  Period.   The  instincts 

Plastic  Period  ^^^®  ^^^  ^^^^  given.  The  habits  are 
pretty  well  formed.  There  is  plenty  of 
time  to  grow,  but  not  much  to  begin.  The^haraci-w^  of 
most  hnvajs^fairly  d<^tftrmii7f>(j  before  they  enter  col- 
legel  Kow  the  father  looks  one  day  into  the  eyes  of 
what  he  thought  was  his  little  boy  and  sees  looking  out 
the  unaccustomed  and  free  spirit  of  a  young  and  un- 
conquerable personality.  Some  mad  parents  take  this 
time  to  begin  that  charming  task  of  "  breaking  the 
child's  will,"  which  is  usually  set  about  with  the  same 
energy  and  implements  as  the  beating  of  carpets.  But 
the  boy  is  now  too  big  either  to  be  whipped  or  to  be 
mentally  or  morally  coerced. 

We  hesitate  whether  to  be  more  afraid  of  or  alarmed 
for  this  creature  who  has  become  endowed  with  the 
passions  and  independence  of  manhood  while  still  a 
child  in  foresight  and  judgment.  He  rushes  now  into 
so  many  crazy  plans  and  harmful  deeds.  Swift  states 
that  a  period  of  semi-criminality  is  normal  for  all  boys 
who  are  healthy.  Hall  calls  it  an  age  of  temporary  oc, 
insanity.  This  age,  particularly  that  from  twelve  to 
sixteen,  is  by  all  odds  the  most  critical  and  difficult  to 
deal  with  in  all  childhood.  It  is  especially  so  because  • 
the  boy  now  becomes  secretive;  he  neither  can  nor  will 
utter  himself,  and  the  very  sensitiveness,  longing  and 
overpowering  sense  of  the  new  life  of  which  I  have 
spoken  is  often  so  concealed  by  inconsistent  and  even 
barbarous  behavior  that  one  quite  loses  both  compre- 
hension and  patience.  These  are  the  fellows  who, 
though  absent,  sustain  the  maternal  prayer-meetings. 

81 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

The  apparent  self-sufficiency  of  the  boy  at  this 
period  causes  the  parent  to  discontinue  many  means 
of  amusement  and  tokens  of  affection  which  were 
retained  until  now.  The  twelve-month-old  infant  is 
submerged  in  toys,  but  the  twelve-year-old  boy  has 
nothing  at  home  to  play  with.  The  infant  is  caressed  till 
he  is  pulplike  and  breathless,  but  the  lad,  who  is  hungry 
for  love  and  understanding,  is  held  at  arms*  length.  This 
is  the  time  when  most  parents  are  found  wanting.  And 
in  this  broad  generalization  I  do  not  forget  what  Madon- 
nas have  learned  in  the  secret  of  their  hearts  and  from 
the  worship  of  the  Child,  nor  what  wise  Josephs  who 
have  dreamed  with  angels  have  been  patient  to  discover. 

Love  and  waiting  must  now  have  their  perfect  work. 
Cures  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  are  to  be  discouraged. 
The  father,  whose  earlier  task  was  to  be  a  perfect  law- 
giver, must  now  become  hero  and  apostle.  It  is  a 
comfort  to  know  that  this  era  will  pass  swiftly  away 
and  that  the  child  will  suddenly  awake  from  many  of 
his  vagaries  and  forget  his  dreams.  There  is  a  certain 
preservative  salt  of  humor,  common  to  boyhood,  and 
demanded  of  parenthood  during  this  trying  era,  by 
means  of  which  children  often  grow  up  much  better 
than  their  parents  can  bring  them  up. 

Our  last  glimpse  of  this  conservatory 
The  will  q£   young    life   shows    us    the    habits 

Adolescence  f  ullgrown  and  the  instincts  budding  suc- 

cessively into  fresh  ones.  These  bud- 
dings or  "  nascencies  "  I  will  refer  to  again.  Here  is  a 
heap  of  knowledge,  much  of  it  undigested,  and  some  of 
it  false.  Here,  too,  if  he  has  passed  the  crisis  I  spoke 
of,  is  the  little  new  plant  of  faith.    There  was  a  faith 

82 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

he  had  before  which  he  had  borrowed  from  his 
mother,  but  a  man  cannot  live  his  whole  life  long  on  a 
borrowed  faith.  It  is  new,  it  is  little,  but  it  is  his  own, 
and  it  is  growing.  But  here  is  something  strange. 
Strong,  vigorous,  fearful  at  first,  and  afterward  danger- 
ous looking,  here  is  a  plant  that  has  suddenly  taken 
root  and  grown  bigger  than  all.  It  is  the  Will.  That  is 
what  all  this  storm  and  stress  mean.  This  Ts  what  is 
born  in  the  emergence  from  the  dependent  to  the  in- 
dependent being.  Shall  we  pull  it  up  and  throw  it 
away?  What!  and  leave  him  a  weakling  child  through 
life?  Shall  we  bind  it  down?  What  I  and  maim  him 
forever?  Let  it  grow,  but  let  it  grow  properly.  This 
will  is  dangerous  but  needful.  You  can't  have  births 
without  some  risks.  If  this  boy  is  ever  to  be  a  man, 
it  will  all  depend  on  what  is  done  with  his  will.  The  ^, 
principal  thing  a  boy  has  to  do  before  twelve  is  to  grow 
a  conscience.  The  principal  thing  after  that  is  to  get 
power  to  use  his  will. 

Social  pedagogy  in  dealing  with  a  being  who  is  now 
coming  to  have  a  social  nature  pays  its  first  and  chief 
attention  to  will-training.  For  there  is  no  more  im- 
portant, more  neglected  subject.  It  is  an  art,  as  one 
tersely  says,  "which  has  no  text-book,  and  of  which  it 
is  impossible  to  write  one." 

The  public  school  fails  in  will-training  because 
it  gives  the  will  no  exercise.  "  Our  schools,"  says 
William  I.  Crane,  "  permit  us  to  think  what  is  good 
but  not  to  do  what  is  good."  The  home,  especially  the 
city  home,  fails  for  the  same  reason.  The  child's  at- 
tention has  been  shared  by  a  thousand  sights,  nothing 
holds  him  long,  and  he  cannot  find  ways  to  use  his  in- 

33 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

stincts  actively.  The  Church  fails  because  it  has  tried 
the  wrong  thing;  it  has  taught  the  children  to  examine 
their  spiritual  interiors  and  to  sing,  "  Draw  me  nearer 
till  my  will  is  lost  in  thine/'  and  not  to  hallow  their 
wills,  as  PhiUips  Brooks  wisely  said,  "  by  filling  them 
with  more  and  more  life,  by  making  them  so  wise  that 
they  shall  spend  their  strength  in  goodness." 

General  Francis  A.  Walker  was  the  first  to  show  just 
what  the  country  did  for  the  boy.  He  used  the  simple 
illustration  of  the  squirrel  seen  on  the  way  from  school, 
the  trap  designed  and  built  for  his  capture,  and  the 
successful  result.  There  was  a  single  keen  interest,  a 
natural  instinct  awakened,  that  instinct  exercised  by  a 
voluntary  muscular  effort  carrying  an  originative  task 
to  completion:  result,  not  merely  a  captured  squirrel, 
but  strengthened  will  power.  Says  Home:  "  Catch  the 
instinct  in  the  act  and  direct  it  toward  a  legitimate 
object.  To  do  so  skilfully  is  actually  to  fashion  the 
good  will." 

With  this  hint  social  pedagogy  goes  to  work.  "  You 
can  only  get  a  purchase  on  another's  will,"  James  says, 
"  by  touching  his  actual  or  potential  self."  Hall  says, 
"  Will  is  only  a  form  of  interest."  We  trained  the 
boy's  conscience,  his  passive  self,  by  filling  his  mind 
with  rules,  but  we  can  train  his  will,  his  active  self, 
only  by  interesting  and  making  active  his  instincts. 
Lancaster  says,  "  The  pedagogy  of  adolescence  may  be 
summed  up  in  one  sentence.  Inspire  enthusiastic  ac- 
tivity." I  spoke  of  the  "  nascencies "  of  instinct. 
Every  little  while  an  instinct  pops  up  in  a  boy's  mind 
and  feebly  feels  for  utterance.  If  it  is  not  noticed  it 
sinks  back  again  to  rest,  or  it  becomes  perverted.     All 

84 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

boys  have  the  constructing  instinct.  If  it  is  neglected 
it  either  fades  away  or  becomes  the  destructive  instinct. 
Some  wise  man  sets  the  boy  to  whittling  or  modeling, 
and  the  instinct  becomes  an  ardent  interest.  Such 
happy  alertness,  thinks  Mosso,  was  the  encouragement 
that  made  a  Raphael  and  a  Da  Vinci.  It  will  satisfy  us 
if  it  gives  our  boys  the  good  instead  of  the  evil  will. 
It  is  also  a  curious  fact  that  a  multiplicity  of  inter- 
ests just  at  this  time  multiplies  rather  than  diminishes 
the  power  of  acquisition.  Thus  social  pedagogy  may 
use  many  instrumentalities  to  encourage  the  interested 
and  self-directed  activities  of  boys  in  maturing  their 
wills  into  principle  and  character. 

...  In  speaking  of  will  in  its  relation  to 

moral  character,  the  important  thing 
to  say  seems  to  be  that  every  boy  by  the  time  he  has 
begun  to  be  a  man  needs  more  than  anything  else  in 
some  way  to  have  gotten  the  habit  of  having  a  first- 
hand relation  to  righteousness.  "  The  moral  man,"  as^ 
John  W.  Carr  says,  "  obeys  himself, ^^ 

I  have  been  saying  that  boys  are 
g^  divided   into    two   grades,    the   "  you- 

must  "  boys  and  the  "  I-must  "  boys. 
The  former  grade  is  of  those  to  whom  these  two  words 
"  you  must  "  need  to  be  instantly  reiterated  by  others 
—  parents,  teachers,  employers,  older  counselors.  The 
"  I-must "  boy  is  the  one  whose  own  conscience  has 
seized  the  scepter  of  authority;  who  no  longer  needs  to 
be  governed  by  outside  consciences  or  to  be  held  up 
by  props.  Jesus  used  this  very  phrase  when,  after  a 
typical  boyish  experience,  he  spoke  this  resolve  in  the 
temple:  "/  must  be  about  my  Father's  business." 

35 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

I  appreciate  the  value  of  parental  training,  I  realize 
how  important  a  part  of  his  moral  education  is  the 
molding  of  a  boy  by  his  peers,  I  know  how  the  emo- 
tional quickening  of  a  "  conversion  "  is  sometimes  the 
gentle  shock  that  seems  the  one  thing  needed  to  launch 
the  young  soul  on  the  ways.  But  this  I  know,  that,  as 
the  old  Yankee  once  expressed  it,  "  This  is  a  world 
that  has  got  to  be  now  and  then  fit  I "  and,  after  all, 
nobody  can  fight  a  boy's  battles  but  the  boy  himself, 
with  God  as  hig  helper. 

The  great  problem  of  bringing  up  a  boy  is  not  to 
make  him  a  good  boy  only  while  he  is  a  boy  and  when 
he  is  at  home,  but  so  to  nurture  him  that  when  he  is  a 
man,  and  wherever  he  may  be,  he  will  be  a  man  of  self- 
determining  goodness.  I  do  not  know  how  we  can  be 
sure  of  such  a  tremendous  result.  We  are  not  alwa3^s 
sure  we  have  attained  it  ourselves.  But  I  am  per- 
suaded that  it  is  to  be  accomplished  by  keeping  the 
boy's  religion  from  ingrowing,  by  bringing  him  gently 
and  constantly  and  firmly  into  opportunities  for  real 
goodness  as  fast  as  he  is  capable  of  them,  by  awakening 
him,  as  soon  as  he  can  answer,  in  the  realm  of  idealism, 
and  most  of  all  by  teaching  him  that  old-fashioned 
thing,  which  has  almost  become  a  cant  word, — piety, — 
which  is  simply  the  filial  relation  to  God. 

In  the  shaping  of  a  boy's  ideals  nothing  is  more  en- 
couraging than  the  extraordinary  degree  to  which  we 
usually  have  the  boy  on  our  side. 

,  There  is  nothing  he  wants  to  be  any 

Good  Will  more  than  the  very  thing  we  want  him 

to   be,  namely,  a  man.     The   curious 

way  in  which  children  reach  up  to  an  age  beyond  their 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

own  is  very  noticeable.  It  is  equally  characteristic  in 
their  play,  when  they  usually  imitate  "  grown-ups." 
Children  have  always  been  thus  since  the  days  when 
Jesus  described  the  children  of  his  time  playing  at 
marrying  and  funerals.  I  am  very  fond  of  this  story: 
A  boy  walking  along  the  shore  of  Massasoit  Pond  in 
Springfield  one  morning  was  met  by  a  man  who  was 
instantly  impressed  by  his  bright,  open  face,  and  who 
stopped  and  engaged  him  in  conversation.  He  asked 
him  where  he  lived,  who  his  father  was,  where  he  went 
to  school,  what  he  was  going  to  be  when  he  became  a 
man,  and  then,  becoming  better  pleased,  finally  asked 
him  how  old  he  was.  He  was  surprised  to  find 
that  the  boy  for  the  first  time  hung  his  head  down  and 
hesitated  to  give  an  answer.  He  repeated  the  question 
and  the  boy  finally  raised  his  head  and  blurted  out, 
**  Well,  I  ain't  but  twelve,  but  my  pants  are  marked 
sixteen."  There  you  have  it,  right  in  a  nutshell.  You 
are  to  measure  a  boy  not  by  the  number  of  his  years, 
but  by  the  girth  of  his  trousers,  by  the  circumference 
of  his  ambitions. 

Much  of  the  lurid  language,  cigarette  smoking,  and 
general  bravado  and  braggadocio  of  a  boy  is  to  be  in- 
terpreted as  simply  a  crude  reaching  up  toward  manli- 
ness, and  all  the  time  underneath  there  is  the  pure  and 
tender  heart  of  a  little  child.  The  energies  of  a  boy 
are  friendly  energies  and,  in  a  general  way,  while  he  is 
busy  he  is  good. 

One  thing  that  makes  it  hard  for  us  to  realize  this 
is  that  during  these  anti-domestic  years  I  have  spoken 
of,  when  the  boy  first  goes  out  to  explore  his  world, 
there  comes  over  him  a  sense  of  alienation,  not  only 

87 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

from  his  own  outgrown  childhood,  but  also  from  those 
he  knows  and  loves.  My  friend,  Mr.  Charles  E.  Mc- 
Kinley,  has  made  the  happy  suggestion  that  it  is  a 
rehearsal  of  the  parable  of  The  Prodigal  Son,  through 
which  even  the  best  of  men,  including  Jesus,  must  pass, 
and  that  "  the  far  country  "  is  the  inevitable  and  not 
always  miserable  condition  through  which  all  youth 
must  walk  to  a  real  heritage  in  the  Father's  House. 
During  this  time  the  lad  meets  his  first  disillusionment 
about  men  or  things,  and  closes  behind  himself  the 
implacable  gates  of  Eden;  he  enlarges  and  alters  the 
code  of  honor  which  he  learned  in  Egyptian  servitude 
to  his  gang;  he  relates  himself  in  some  degree  to  the 
world  and  his  mission  in  it,  and  finds  out  what  belongs 
to  him,  and  he  makes  the  final  transition  from  a  de- 
pendent to  an  independent  soul  life,  from  the  Old 
Testament  to  the  New  Testament  of  his  being. 

In  these  years  there  are  single  events  and  days  that 
are  magical.  Happy  is  the  parent  who  may  be  the 
ministrant  by  whose  aid  the  person  or  circumstance 
comes  to  his  child  which  awakens  his  soul  or  his  am- 
bition, which  opens  the  gates  of  vision,  or  which  gives 
the  Aladdin's  lamp  which  makes  happiness  forever 
after  a  possibility! 

The  intellectual  side  of  the  religious  nature  is  the  last 
awakened.  The  doubt-period  comes  very  late  in  boy- 
hood. Its  seriousness  depends  upon  the  character  of 
early  instruction.  If  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  in  the 
home  has  communicated  nothing  that  must  be  un- 
learned, and  has  left  little  opportunity  for  intellectual 
strains,  the  man  will  make  his  mature  theologies  with- 
out mental  anguish. 

38 


SOCIAL        DEVELOPMENT 

All  this,  the  deepest  and  most  thorough  evolution  of 
life,  takes  time.  If  religion  in  the  child  be,  as  Dr. 
Stanley  Hall  has  said,  *'  a  growth,  not  a  conquest,'* 
it  must  come  on  very  slowly,  and  our  nervous,  well- 
meant  eagerness  for  ''  results,"  with  the  accompanying 
temptation  to  the  child  to  regard  himself  and  his  ex- 
periences as  interesting,  is  misplaced  and  mischievous. 
We  cannot  be  too  anxious  to  give  our  children  early 
Christian  nurture,  and  we  cannot  make  up  for  neglect 
to  do  that  by  frantic  special  efforts  at  the  close  of  the 
plastic  period. 

The  results  of  this  chapter  suggest  that  the  last 
nascencies  of  the  instincts,  the  completion  of  the  habits, 
the  psychical  crisis  and  the  infancy  of  the  will,  all 
coincident  with  the  birth  of  the  social  nature,  together 
form  a  period  of  danger  and  possibility  in  boy  life. 
For  helping  this  age  the  cooperative  wisdom  and  aid 
of  all  friends  of  boys  and  girls  is  earnestly  to  be  desired. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

CoE,  Geoboe  a.  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals.  New  York:  Revell. 
1904. 

GuLicK,  Luther  H.  The  Religion  of  Boys.  Association  Boys,  New  York, 
1902-03. 

Hall,  G.  Stanley.  Boy  Life  in  a  Massachusetts  Town  Thirty  Years  Ago. 
Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  1890;  also  Peda- 
gogical Seminary,  Worcester,  1899. 

Adolescence  (2  vols.).     New  York:  Appleton.     1905. 

KiRKPATRicK,  E.  A-  The  Individual  in  the  Making.  Boston:  Houghton. 
1911. 

Lancaster,  E.  G.  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Adolescence.  Pedagogi- 
cal Seminary,  Worcester,  July,  1897. 

MuMFORD,  Edith  E.  Read.  The  Dawn  of  Character.  New  York:  Longmans. 
1911. 

Starbuck,  E.  D.  The  Psychology  of  Religion  (the  chapters  on  conversion) 
New  York:  Scribners.     1899. 

Tyler,  J.  M.    Growth  and  Education.    Boston:   Houghton.    1907. 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


II 

BY-LAWS  OF  BOY  LIFE 

Starbuck,  speaking  of  religious  training,  says,  "One 
can  scarcely  think  of  a  single  pedagogical  maxim 
which,  if  followed  in  all  cases,  might  not  violate  the 
deepest  needs  of  the  person  whom  it  is  our  purpose 
to  help."  This  is  true  of  all  training.  The  parent, 
teacher  or  social  worker  who  should  try  to  bring  up 
a  boy  or  a  group  of  boys  by  means  of  the  digest  of 
information  in  the  last  chapter  would  find  that  in  real 
life,  as  in  Latin  grammar,  there  are  more  exceptions 
than  rules. 

Some  children  will  very  closely  follow  the  diagram 
of  growth  which  I  have  suggested;  most  children  will 
accommodate  themselves  to  it  in  a  general  way,  vary- 
ing dates,  order  and  distinctness  of  detail ;  while  a  few 
will  seem  to  defy  all  laws  in  their  development. 

I  feel  it  necessary  to  interrupt  the  logic  by  which 
(having  shown  the  nature  and  needs  of  adolescence)  I 
proceed  to  suggest  the  ways  by  which  those  needs  are 
being  and  should  be  supplied,  in  order  to  relate  some 
of  the  by-laws  to  the  constitution  of  boy  life  and  im- 
press the  necessity  of  knowing  the  lads  who  are  to  be 
helped  in  their  individualities. 

Physicians  have  systems  of  filling  out  and  filing  the 
life-history,  diagnosis  and  history  of  the  case  of  each 
of  their  patients.  I  think  it  would  help  every  worker 
with  boys  to  devise  a  system  of  blanks  for  securing  the 

40 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

facts  suggested  in  this  chapter  about  each  of  his  boys. 
In  every  Sunday-school  class,  in  every  boy's  club,  in 
every  home  there  is  a  boy  who  has  some  peculiarity 
the  knowledge  of  which  is  essential  to  wisdom  in  caring 
for  him. 

In  every  group  of  boys  we  notice  in- 
Precodtv  stances  of  Delay  or  Precocity  in  develop- 

ment. This  may  be  hereditary,  tem- 
peramental, or  accidental.  This  boy  comes  of  a  slow, 
stolid,  substantial  stock  and  matures  slowly.  Here  is 
one  of  a  tropical  temperament  who  is  precocious. 
Sickness,  lack  of  nutrition  or  care,  an  accident,  a 
sorrow,  may  have  kept  that  one  back.  One  needs  to 
know  these  home  conditions  and  the  life-history  in 
order  to  know  the  boy.  One  may  entirely  lose  power 
with  a  boy  by  being  too  quick  or  too  slow  for  him. 
There  is  a  well-known  "  clumsy  age  "  between  fourteen 
and  sixteen,  when  the  skill  of  the  hand  becomes  sta- 
tionary or  retrogrades  while  the  power  of  appreciation 
of  the  fine  and  true  grows  on.  This  is  caused  by  the 
faicj|[bhat  tbrjinnon  nrr  f;;rnTUiiM^  f  i  \\{  1 1bin  the  muscles 
in  rTO^hort  period  of  stupendous  physical  increment. 
A  similar  period  of  deterioration-  in  the  pleasure  in,  and 
the  quality  of,  the  drawings  of  children,  beginning  with 
the  tenth  or  twelfth  year,  is  noted  by  Chamberlain, 
which  he  explains  by  the  fact  that  the  child  awakes  to 
the  true  appreciation  of  his  work  as  "  nothing  more 
than  a  poor,  weak  imitation  of  nature,  and  the  charm 
of  creative  art  vanishes  with  the  disappearance  of  the 
former  naive  faith  in  it."  This  coming  down  out  of  the 
realm  of  childish  imagination  unto  the  level  of  seeing 
things  as  they  are,  coupled  with  new  desires  after  the 

41 


THE  BOY         PROBLEM 

ideal,  which  are  limited  in  execution  by  manual  clumsi- 
ness, helps  to  explain  some  of  the  moodiness  and  gloom 
of  the  period. 

The  influence  of  Temperament  on  the 
phenomena  of  development  is  not  to  be 
neglected.  Although  Lotze  has  made  an  ingenious  and 
often  observable  parallel  between  the  sanguine  tem- 
perament and  childhood  and  the  sentimental  and  adol- 
escence, the  diversities  of  temperamental  nature  which 
are  to  be  permanent  are  by  middle  adolescence  pretty 
well  established.  The  readiness  but  triviality  of  the 
sanguine,  the  cheerful  conceit  of  the  sentimental,  the 
^prompt,  intense  response  of  the  choleric  and  the  rumina- 
tive nature  of  the  phlegmatic  temperaments  are  each 
noticeable  in  individual  boys.  The  "  child  types  " 
which  have  been  classified  are  only  differences  and 
combinations  of  temperaments.  Lesshaft  recognizes 
six  among  children  entering  school:  the  hypocritical, 
the  ambitious,  the  quiet,  the  effeminate-stupid,  the 
bad-stupid,  the  depressed.  Siegert  names  fifteen: 
melancholy,  angel-or-devil,  star-gazer,  scatterbrain, 
apathetic,  misanthropic,  doubter  and  seeker,  honorable, 
critical,  eccentric,  stupid,  buffoonly-naVve,  with  feeble 
memory,  studious,  and  hlasS.  These  characteristics, 
with  their  special  relations  to  the  sensibilities,  intellect 
and  will,  are  to  be  noted  and  used  as  diagnoses  for 
individual  treatment. 

.  Racial  Differences  are  quite  marked 

Differences  ^^  regions  where  there  are  many  boys 

of  foreign  birth,  and  they  largely  de- 
termine the  special  methods  of  social  work  with  them. 
I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Thomas  Chew,  who  has  nearly 

42 


BY-I.  AWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

two  thousand  boys  under  continual  observation  in  the 
Fall  River  Boys'  Club,  for  his  impressions  of  two 
classes  of  foreigners,  —  the  French  Canadians  and  the 
Hebrews.  "  The  French  Canadians  are  behind  our 
American-born  boys.  I  am  pretty  sure  that  they 
comprise  almost  every  illiterate  boy  in  Fall  River. 
They  are  behind  the  other  boys  in  playing  games.  They  * 
need  educating  in  play  and  in  trustworthiness.  They 
lack  the  honor  sense.  I  don't  see  how  I  could  put 
them  upon  their  honor  as  we  do  other  boys  —  they 
would  hardly  know  what  I  meant.  They  do  well  under 
the  care  of  an  Americanized  boy.  Probably  they  will 
become  better  citizens  in  another  generation  or  two. 
.  .  .  The  older  Jewish  boys  are  clannish.  They  like  * 
to  meet,  exercise,  bathe,  etc.,  with  their  own  race. 
Their  religious  scruples  as  to  food  should  be  respected. 
The  Jews  read  more  than  other  boys.  The  Irish; 
stick  together  in  the  election  of  officers  for  the  various) 
societies.  They  do  not  seem  capable  of  rising  out  of 
their  inborn  prejudice  of  the  English.  The  Jew  is  the 
only  one  of  the  lot  who  will  thank  you  for  a  good  turn." 

Mr.  George  W.  Morgan  of  the  Hebrew  Educational 
Alliance  of  New  York  has  contrasted  the  Irish  with  the 
Hebrew  boy,  and  made  some  acute  observations  of 
the  latter: 

"  One  of  the  most  striking  traits  of  the  Jewish  char- 
acter is  its  intensity.  Look  at  the  intellectual  side,  and 
you  immediately  say  that  the  Jew  is  developed  men- 
tally at  the  expense  of  the  complementary  sides  of  his 
nature.  It  is  said  of  the  Irishman  that  if  he  cannot 
easily  pick  a  quarrel,  he  begins  to  step  on  his  neigh- 
bor's toes  as  he  spits  on  his  own  hands  and  prepares  for 

43 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

a  clinch.  With  perhaps  more  truth  might  it  be  said  of  a 
Jewish  boy  that  if  he  cannot  agree  with  his  companion 
on  some  subject,  he  begins  a  volley  of  pointed  querying 
to  establish  by  what  claim  of  reasoning  his  companion 
can  possibly  agree  with  him.  He  is  a  most  accomplished 
mental  gymnast.  Fix  your  attention  on  his  emotional 
nature,  and  if  you  know  him  you  will  decide  that  the 
strength  of  his  passions  is  his  distinguishing  trait. 
His  nerves  are  tuned  to  a  high  pitch  and  readily  re- 
sponsive to  the  sympathetic  touch.  Strike  a  dis- 
cordant note,  and  his  frame  vibrates  with  suppressed 
antithetic  emotions.  The  gamut  is  run  with  surprising 
alacrity.  With  his  will  you  deal  with  the  inflexible. 
His  plans  once  formed,  he  will  plod  the  years  as  days, 
cope  with  difficulties  if  surmountable,  and  if  otherwise 
l^ide  his  time  until  conditions  change.  He  may  all 
along  be  chafing  with  impatience,  but  the  callous 
comes,  and  on  he  goes.  There  is,  however,  a  limit  to 
this  intensity.  The  friction  from  such  velocity  wears 
upon  the  machine.  The  Jew  is  physically  the  inferior 
of  his  Gentile  brother.  He  travels  faster,  but  often 
falls  before  the  race  seems  run.  We  see,  therefore,  that 
the  Jew  is  an  extremist." 

Ethical  Dualism,  a  trait  of  semi- 
Dualism  •  development  and  one  with  which  we 
are  familiar  among  American  negroes,  is 
characteristic  of  immaturity.  It  is  the  trait  of  the 
person  who  has  not  yet  accepted  the  responsibility  for 
his  own  life.  None  of  us  entirely  shake  it  off.  Not 
only  is  the  Sunday  boy  different  from  the  Monday  boy, 
the  boy  praying  different  from  the  boy  playing,  the  boy 
alone  or  with  his  parents  or  his  adult  friend  different 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

from  the  boy  with  his  comrades,  but,  as  in  savagery, 
the  ethics  of  the  boy  with  his  "  gang  "  is  different  from 
that  with  other  boys.  It  is  the  old  clan  ethics.  This 
idea  that  loyalty  is  due  only  to  one's  own  tribe,  and 
that  other  people  are  enemies,  and  other  people's  prop- 
erty is  legitimate  prey,  is  just  the  spirit  which  makes 
the  "  gang  "  dangerous,  and  which  suggests  the  need 
of  teaching  a  universal  sociality,  and  of  transforming 
the  clan  allegiance  into  a  chivalry  toward  all.  The 
clan  is  a  step  higher  than  individualism;  I  would  recog- 
nize it,  but  I  would  lead  its  members  to  be  knights 
rather  than  banditti.  "  The  age  which  the  boy  has 
reached,"  says  Joseph  Lee,  "  is  that  where  Sir  Launce- 
lot,  the  knight-errant,  the  hero  of  single  combat,  is 
developing  into  Arthur,  the  loyal  king." 

Another  trait  of  adolescence  is  the 
Immaturities  Survival  of  Immaturities.  These  are 
not  immediately  cut  off.  Illness,  nerve 
fatigue,  unknown  causes,  may  bring  them  back.  The 
emotional  era  is  often  babyish.  A  later  survival  is  the 
craze  for  the  lodge  in  early  manhood,  which  seems  to 
result  from  the  fact  that  the  adolescent  love  of  chivalry 
and  parade  has  not  previously  been  satisfied. 

.  Adolescence  not  only  gives  "  rever- 

berations "  of  the  past;  it  prophesies 
its  future.  This  comparatively  unnoticed  fact  must 
modify  many  of  our  conclusions  and  much  of  our 
practise.  It  is  easy  to  overemphasize  the  fact  that 
the  child  is  a  savage.  He  is  also  a  seer.  As  in  Joel, 
our  "  young  men  see  visions  "  and  "  upon  the  hand- 
maidens is  poured  out  the  Spirit."  Chamberlain  calls 
the  child  "  the  general  genius,"  and  shows  that  if  we 

46 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

knew  better  the  art  of  developing  the  individual  we 
should  not  during  the  process  of  maturing  destroy  the 
promise  of  youth.  This  is  to  be  done,  in  general,  by 
keeping  in  advance  of  the  child  and  giving  him  some- 
thing to  reach  up  to  without  making  him  unchildlike. 
He  knows  by  prophetic  instinct  much  that  he  has  not 
experienced,  and  he  reads  as  well  as  feels.  We  can  give 
him  some  information  which  shall  seem  like  empty 
rooms,  but  he  will  soon  hasten  on  and,  if  the  informa- 
tion be  vital  truth,  populate  these  vacant  formularies 
and  make  that  which  was  first  habit  volitional.  This 
explains  why  some  religious  instruction  which  was  not 
based  on  child-study  has  produced  pretty  good  results, 
while  some  other  with  good  enough  theories  has  failed. 
The  latter  was  not  nourishing  enough.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  I  mean,  let  me  instance  the  place  of  art 
in  a  child's  life.  The  psychologist  who  remembers  only 
the  fact  that  children  reverberate  may  say:  Give  the 
child  only  large  outlines  and  crude  colors.  But  he  who 
remembers  that  the  child  is  also  a  prophet  says:  Do 
this  if  you  will,  but  give  the  boy  also  the  Sistine  Ma- 
donna and  her  Child.  It  may  correct  the  grotesqueness 
of  his  imperfect  imagination  now,  and  either  a  certain 
Messianic  prophecy  in  his  soul  will  reveal  its  beauty, 
or  else,  having  been  habituated  to  it  in  childhood,  it 
will  hang  cherished  forever  on  the  walls  of  memory 
when  he  can  fully  understand.  Appeal  to  your  own 
memory  of  home  pictures  and  tell  me  if  this  is  not  wise. 
Another  curious  fact  about  maturing 
life  is  that  it  comes  on  in  waves.  Be- 
tween these  are  Lulls.  These  lulls  were  called  to  my 
attention  by  some  heads  of  reformatories  before  I  read 

46 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY       LIFE 

about  them.  Those  who  have  seen  Starbuck's  charts 
of  the  period  of  conversion  are  familiar  with  the  triple 
rise  and  fall  of  that  age.  But  there  are  other  charts 
upon  which  this  rhythmic  development  is  manifest. 
This  boy  grows  nine  inches  in  stature  this  year  and 
next  year  he  increases  not  at  all.  That  boy  led  his 
class  last  year;  this  year  he  is  leading  the  other  end  of 
it.  Yonder  lad  came  to  "the  necktie  stage"  a  few 
months  ago;  now  he  has  forsworn  society.  Another 
was  hopefully  converted  recently,  but  now  has  back- 
slidden and  fears  he  has  sinned  the  unpardonable  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit.  What  is  the  explanation? 
If  you  chart  out  all  these  rhythms,  physical,  mental, 
social,  and  moral,  you  will  find  that  they  closely  corre- 
spond. Their  explanation  is  largely  physical.  When 
physical  growth  and  energy  are  near  their  flood-tide 
the  other  friendly  energies  respond  likewise,  but  during 
these  reaction  times  which  the  good  God  gives  so  that 
the  child's  body  may  gather  power  to  grow  again,  all 
the  other  energies  hibernate.  This  law  of  rhythms 
probably  acts  to  a  lesser  degree  all  through  life.  It  is 
not  confined  to  adolescence.  Middle-aged  people  have 
testified  to  having  regular  fluctuations  of  religious  in- 
terest once  in  two  years;  others,  during  successive 
winters.  Some  of  these  cases  are  explainable,  some  are 
obscure.  The  tendency  of  nervous  energy  to  expend 
and  then  recuperate  itself;  the  fact  of  a  yearly  rhythm 
in  growth,  greatest  in  the  autumn  and  least  from  Apiil 
to  July,  pointed  out  by  Malling-Hansen ;  the  influence  of 
winter  quiet  and  leisure  upon  religious  feeling,  —  these 
are  suggestive.  In  boyhood  it  is  probable  that  the  first 
lull  is  a  reaction  from  the  shock  of  the  pubertal  change, 

47 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

the  second  a  reaction  from  the  year  of  greatest  physical 
growth,  and  the  third  a  reaction  from  the  year  of  doubt 
and  re-creation.     The  boy,  then,  who  suddenly  loses  his 

^y  interest  in  religion  or  work  or  ideals  is  not  to  be  thought 
in  a  desperate  condition,  and  somebody  ought  to  tell 
him  that  he  is  not.  There  is  nothing  to  do  but  wait 
for  this  condition,  which  is  natural  and  helpful  to  over- 
wrought energies,  to  pass,  as  it  surely  will. 

Something  has  been  said  about  the 
importance  of  recognizing  and  following 
the  leadings  of  the  natural  interests  or  the  Instincts  of 
boys,  in  trying  to  help  them.  This  must  always  be 
done,  but  it  must  not  be  overdone.  When  social  inter- 
course begins,  natural  instincts  begin  to  be  perverted. 
It  is  the  best  and  not  the  worst  manifestation  of  his 
means  of  guidance  which  is  to  be  followed.  One  must 
distinguish  between  instincts  and  whims.  Fickleness 
is  so  noticeable  a  trait  of  boys  that  no  parent  or  friend 
of  boys  can  ever  afford  to  decide  a  new  proposal  from  a 
boy  till  he  has  given  him  time  to  make  a  still  newer  one. 

\J  The  time  and  place  of  assembly,  the  rules  and  restric- 
tions of  membership  and  the  development  of  the  plans 
of  an  organization  for  boys,  if  left  to  the  boys  them- 
selves, soon  become  entirely  unsatisfactory  to  all 
concerned. 

All  that  I  have  said  shows  the  care  that  must  be 
taken  not  to  misinterpret  boyhood.  Things  do  not 
always  mean  what  they  seem  to  or  even  what  the 
psychologists  suggest.  I  spoke  of  the  curious  articles 
found  in  a  boy's  pocket  as  evidences  of  a  sort  of  fetich- 
ism.  They  may  be  nothing  of  the  sort;  they  may  be 
simply  the  evidences  of  an  elementary  esthetic  taste. 

48 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

It  takes  time  and  many  revisings  of  one's  opinion  to 
arrive  at  the  point  where  one  discovers  that  what  a 
boy  says  is  seldom  all  he  means,  and  that  what  he  does 
is  but  a  slight  indication  of  what  he  is. 

The  by-laws  of  life  which  I  have  named  are  largely 
those  which  accompany  childhood  in  which  there  is  a 
real  progression.  We  must  now  mention  those  excep- 
tions, common  enough  to  necessitate  knowledge  of 
them,  where  the  life  becomes  stationary  or  makes 
retrogression.  These  are  the  stages  of  atavism,  delin- 
quency and  defectiveness,  degeneracy  and  idiocy. 

Atavism  is  not  clearly  distinguished 
from  heredity.  Indeed,  Virchow  de- 
fined it  as  "  discontinuous  heredity."  It  is  not  in 
itself  a  step  toward  degeneracy.  Probably  we  are  all 
atavistic  when  asleep  or  fatigued  or  part  of  a  crowd. 
The  inheritance  may  be  from  a  good  rather  than  an 
evil  ancestor,  of  sturdiness  of  body,  genius  of  mind  or 
purity  of  soul.  Whatever  it  be,  it  is  very  apt  to  show 
itself  during  adolescence.  Then  it  is  that  the  child  who 
has  always  been  like  its  mother  suddenly  grows  like  its 
father  in  looks  or  character,  or,  becoming  an  entirely 
strange  being,  it  is  remembered  or  discovered  that  an 
ancestor  two  or  three  generations  back  had  these  qual- 
ities. A  happy  advantage  may  be  taken  of  a  favor- 
able atavism.  If  the  atavism  be  in  the  direction  of 
degeneration,  now  is  the  time  for  warning  and  guiding 
the  child  in  his  formative  years. 

Adopting  the  biological  theory  of  E.  Ray  Lankester 
as  to  the  three  conditions  which  may  result  from 
natural  selection,  Balance,  Elaboration  and  Degenera- 
tion, Dr.  George  E.  Dawson  has  made  some  suggestive 

49 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

studies  of  psychic  arrests.  Each  of  these  arrests, 
which  constitute  the  retrogressive  stages  of  defective- 
ness or  degeneracy,  he  explains  as  the  persistence  of 
lower  appetites  and  instincts.  Vagrancy  and  pauper- 
ism represent  the  persistence  of  the  unproductive  food- 
appetites  of  animals,  children  and  savages;  theft  is  the 
persistence  of  the  predatory  instinct;  gluttony  and 
drunkenness  represent  the  indiscriminate  food-appetites; 
unchastity  is  a  defectiveness  in  sex-evolution;  assault 
is  a  persistence  of  the  preying  instinct.  These  arrests, 
if  temporary,  are  like  the  temporary  stages  of  physical 
growth,  and  are  transformed  if  surrounding  conditions 
are  healthful.  If  there  is  a  total  arrest  of  the  elimina- 
tive  process  we  have  the  results  in  the  crimes  and 
offenses  of  the  delinquent  classes.  If  these  lower 
qualities  are  not  only  persistent,  but  become  diseases, 
we  have  moral  monsters.  Regarding  the  last  class  he 
makes  some  most  vigorous  suggestions.  But  we  are 
here  concerned  only  with  his  advice  as  to  the  treatment 
of  the  second.  He  urges  a  recognition  that  the  cause 
of  a  large  proportion  of  immoral  tendencies  is  an  in- 
complete elimination  of  the  sub-human  traits.  "  Edu- 
cation as  a  moral  agency,"  he  says,  "  must  be  chiefly 
serviceable  during  the  periods  of  life  that  recapitulate 
the  great  groups  of  genetic  instincts  and  habits.  Such 
are  the  periods  of  childhood  and  adolescence." 

The  practical  advice  which  he  gives  is  most  helpful 
to  those  who,  in  trying  to  help  a  number  of  boys  or 
girls  in  social  groups  in  community  or  church,  are  puz- 
zled or  disheartened  at  the  presence  of  one  or  more 
partly  delinquent  or  immoral  children.  He  counsels 
that  we  remember  that  these  survivals  cannot  be  ex- 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

tirpated  in  a  moment.  He  urges  the  greatest  caution 
as  to  tempting  these  children  toward  the  evils  to  which 
they  have  tendencies,  because  if  the  functioning  of 
these  immoral  survivals  can  be  kept  from  occurring, 
the  reduction  of  their  power  must  inevitably  follow. 
If,  especially  during  adolescence,  appeal  is  made  to  the 
emotions  and  the  reason,  the  functions  which  had  ret- 
rograded may  be  transformed  and  brought  up  to  the 
level  of  those  around  them.  Let  bullying  be  changed 
into  chivalry  toward  the  weak,  destructiveness  into 
constructiveness,  general  obstreperousness  into  enthu- 
siastic activity.  Johnson  found  that  the  use  of  play 
and  crafts  had  an  especially  favorable  enlightening  and 
awakening  effect  upon  defective  youth. 

These  are  the  lines  of  effort  which  have  already  been 
pressed  as  the  proper  means  of  training  the  wills  of 
normal  children.  We  thus  learn  that  they  are  to  be 
doubly  emphasized  in  strengthening  defective  wills  and 
stimulating  arrested  lives  to  new  growth. 

The  by-laws  of  boy  life  that  have  so  far  been  men- 
tioned are  variations  in  the  boy's  own  evolution.  It 
remains  to  mention  some  that  are  the  result  of  the 
surrounding  conditions  of  his  life. 

We  have  to-day  a  new  kind  of  home. 
The  pioneer  home  was  the  abiding-place 
of  the  whole  family  and  a  microcosm  of  the  world. 
Father  and  mother  were  always  present  and  always  in 
active  discharge  of  their  varied  functions.  They  were 
priests,  teachers,  industrial  instructors,  judges  and 
executives  of  justice.  To-day  the  father  in  the  city, 
and  to  a  considerable  degree  in  the  country,  is  absent 
all  day  from  the  home.     Woman  has  been  emancipated, 

61 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

and  one  of  the  things  the  mother  is  emancipated  from 
is  the  house.  The  teaching,  the  industrial  training,  the 
discipline  of  faults  and  the  moral  and  religious  educa- 
tion of  children  have  been  turned  over  to  the  school, 
the  state  and  the  church.  Clubs,  lodges,  flat-life, 
moving,  the  lack  of  neighbors  and  dooryards,  divorce, 
—  these  are  some  of  the  disintegrating  influences  that 
are  at  work  upon  the  home.  The  child  has  little 
loyalty  to  a  place  or  to  people,  no  opportunity  to  do 
any  useful  work,  few  social  ties  to  his  parents  and  little 
real  attention  from  them.  Rich  or  poor,  he  is  really, 
as  Professor  Peabody  has  pointed  out,  too  often  the 
victim,  in  private  boarding-school  and  orphanage  alike, 
of  a  "  placing-out  system." 

Another  condition  that   affects  the 

child  is  the  city.  One  third  of  our 
children  to-day  live  in  cities.  Now  the  country  is  a 
panorama;  the  city  is  a  kinetoscope.  It  is  possible  to 
exaggerate  the  moral  advantages  of  life  in  a  country 
town,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  exaggerate  the  contrast 
in  the  effect  on  the  physical  and  nervous  life  of  a  child 
between  the  real  country  and  the  real  city. 

A  third  condition  that  affects  children,  especially  in 
cities,  is  the  influence  of  immigration.  I  am  not  affirm- 
ing or  denying  here  that  the  immigrant  child  has  virtues 
that  the  American  child  may  well  emulate.  I  am  say- 
ing simply  that  the  different  ideals  and  practises  of  the 
foreign  child  are  a  potent  influence  on  the  character  of 
the  American  child  wherever  the  two  come  in  contact. 
An  altogether  different  modification 

of  child  growth  is  the  presence  of  a  very 
strong  Personality  with  or  near  the  child.    Sometimes 

u 


BY-LAWS        OF        BOY        LIFE 

it  is  a  playmate  who  blesses  or  blasts  for  a  time  the 
lives  of  a  group  of  boys.  It  is  a  matter  of  observation 
that  every  new  boy  introduced  into  a  boys'  club  alters 
the  effectiveness  of  methods  which  have  hitherto  applied 
and  sometimes  makes  a  previously  successful  plan  a 
failure.  "  The  King  of  Boyville  "  is  no  fiction  in  many 
a  community.  Occasionally  this  personality  is  a 
woman.  It  may  be  a  playmate  of  the  same  or  often 
of  greater  age,  who  calls  forth  that  first  love  whose 
sweetness  is  its  unearthly  and  chivalric  purity.  It  may 
be  that  rare  monster,  a  female  libertine.  It  is  oftener 
a  genial  matron  who  is  great-aunt  and  fairy  godmother 
to  a  whole  group.  Sometimes  this  personality  is  that 
of  a  man  who  seems  to  exercise,  voluntarily  or  invol- 
untarily, an  almost  hypnotic  influence  upon  children. 
Happy  the  leader  of  boys  who  has  that  power  and  who 
can  wisely  use  it!  Warm-hearted  and  trustful,  the 
lad  is  always  easily  seduced.  His  future  depends  more 
upon  the  first  great  friendship  of  his  adolescence  than 
upon  any  other  one  influence. 

Three  other  influences  can  be  only 
Influences  mentioned  and  grouped  together.   They 

are  the  increase  of  lawlessness  among 
rich  and  poor,  the  falling  of  the  church  behind  the 
public  school  in  its  educational  work,  and  the  fact  that, 
while  the  home  has  abdicated  the  moral  instruction  of 
children,  the  school  has  not  in  any  orderly,  serious  or 
consecutive  way  taken  it  up. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  some  sort  of  balance  to  these 
last  three  portentous  and  alarming  statements,  we  may 
gather  what  heart  we  may  from  three  other  condition- 
ing facts  of  recent  origin, —  the  rise  of  child-study,  the 

£3 


^ 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

triumph  of  "  the  new  education/'  with  its  emphasis 
upon  tlie  child  rather  than  upon  the  subject  of  study, 
and  the  recent  national  revival  of  righteousness. 

The  impression  which  this  chapter  will  leave  is  not 
one  of  encouragement  to  those  who  are  about  to  enter 
on  work  with  boys  after  taking  a  fifteen  minutes'  course 
in  pedagogy  or  in  servile  obedience  to  the  limitations 
of  some  popular  society  for  the  moral  improvement  of 
the  young.  The  matter  of  spiritual  therapeutics  de- 
mands powers  of  observation,  collation  and  application 
of  a  rare  kind.  It  suggests  a  preparation  for  work  with 
boys  which  is  severe  in  its  demands,  but  none  too  severe 
for  labor  with  material  so  plastic  and  so  sensitive  to 
impression.  This  preparation  may  not  be  necessarily 
scholastic.  To  be  a  young  man  and  thus  to  have  re- 
cently been  a  boy,  or  to  be  the  father  or  mother  of 
boys,  and  to  have  common  sense,  insight  and  patience, 
—  these  are  long  steps  on  the  way  to  mastery  with 
boys.  The  peculiar  dispositions  and  vagaries  of  boys 
are  most  of  them  the  temporary  stages  through  which 
they  pass  in  the  struggle  toward  maturity,  and  they 
suddenly  disappear  at  the  close  of  the  pubertal  epoch, 
but  they  are  nevertheless  true  materials  of  character, 
and  they  must  be  studied  and  understood  and  used  for 
their  higher  rather  than  their  lower  possibilities.  Other 
things  being  equal,  the^^besLway^  to  help  a  boy  is  to 
ijnderstand  him. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Atrbb.  Lbonard  p.  Laggards  in  our  Schools.  New  York:  Charities  Publica- 
tion Committee,  1909. 

Barb.  Martin  W.    Mental  Defectives.    Philadelphia:   P.  Blackiaton. 

Breckenriikie,  Sophonibba  p.  and  Abbott,  Edith.  The  Delinquent  Child 
and  the  Home.    New  York:   Charities  Publication  Committee.     1912. 

64 


BY-LAWS        OF         BOY        LIFE 


Brtan,  E.  B.     Nascent  Stages  and  Their  Pedagogical  SigniBcance.     Peda- 

ffogical  Seminary,  1808. 
BoHANMON,  E.    A  Study  of  Peculiar  and  Ezoeptional  Children.    Pedagogical 

Seminary,  1896. 

The  Only  Child  in  a  Family.     Ibid.,  1898. 

Dawson,  GEORaB  E.    A  Study  in  Youthful  Degeneracy.    Pedagogical  Semi- 

nary,  1896;  also  the  author,  Hartford. 
Hart,  Hastings  H.,  and  others.    Preventive  Treatment  of  Neglected  Children. 

New  York:  Charities  Publication  Committee,  1910. 
Henderson,  Charles  R.    Dependents,  Defectives  and  Delinquents.    Boston: 

Heath.     1901. 
KiRKPATRiCK,  E.  A.    Fundamentals  of  Child  Study.    New  York:  Macmillan. 

1912. 
Morrison,  W.  Douglass.    Juvenile  Offenders.    New  York:  Appleton.    1897. 
Stableton,  J.  K.     Diary  of  a  Western  Schoolmaster.     Chicago:    Flanagan. 

1900. 
Swift,  Edgar  J.    Some  Criminal  Tendencies  in  Boyhood.    Pedagogical  Semi- 
nary, 1901. 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


III 

WAYS  IN  WHICH  BOYS  SPONTANEOUSLY 
ORGANIZE  SOCIALLY 

The  interests  of  infancy  are  all  in  the  home.  This 
is  the  parent's  unhampered  opportunity.  During  boy- 
hood the  home  shares  with  school  the  boy's  time.  But 
with  the  development  of  his  social  instinct  by  means  of 
play,  new  acquaintanceships  begin  to  use  the  crevices 
of  his  time.  First  he  plays  at  home  with  a  chosen 
companion  or  two;  then  he  ventures  forth  to  the  ball 
field  and  the  swimming  hole  with  a  larger  group;  finally 
his  journeys  are  farther,  his  stay  is  longer,  the  group 
is  more  thoroughly  organized  and  a  mob  spirit  is  apt 
to  arise  which  passes  from  unorganized  play  and 
sportive  frolic  to  barbarous  and  destructive  deviltry, 
and  we  have,  in  city  and  country,  the  fully  developed 
"  gang." 

Accounts  of  the  doings  of  these  "  gangs,"  from  the 
comparative  innocence  of  property  destruction  and 
hoodlumism  to  organized  theft,  assault  and  murder, 
appear  in  the  daily  press  continually.  Hardly  less 
dangerous  in  tendency  are  many  of  the  clubs  which 
more  quietly  meet  indoors.  A  recent  report  of  the 
University  Settlement  of  New  York  City  calls  attention 
to  the  candy  stores  as  informal  social  centers  which 
lead  to  the  pool-room,  the  saloon,  the  cheap  show  and 
the  clubroom,  and  to  "  recreation  clubs,"  where, 
a  younger   member    reports,    "  they  have  kissing  all 

£6 


WAYS        BOYS        ORGANIZE 

through  pleasure  time,  and  use  slang  language/*  and  — 
the  members  are  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  —  "  they 
don't  behave  nice  between  young  ladies. '* 

Ofttimes  watchful  parents  can  prevent  the  evolution 
of  the  social  instinct  from  reaching  the  mob  stage  or 
the  manifestation  of  lawlessness  by  redeeming  and 
transforming  these  energies,  but  the  fact  that  this  is  not 
everywhere  being  done  —  and  this  not  among  the  poor 
entirely,  either  —  gives  room  for  new  and  vigorous 
forms  of  educative  philanthropy. 

Convincing  proofs  that  this  early  social  instinct 
craves  development  as  much  as  that  of  adult  man,  and 
suggestive  indications  of  the  ways  in  which  it  turns 
and  may  best  be  turned  are  seen  in  a  study  of  those 
interesting  organizations  which  boys  themselves  spon- 
taneously create.  Dr.  Henry  D.  Sheldon's  question- 
naire as  to  the  spontaneous  institutional  activities  of 
American  children  furnishes  me  my  figures,  but  I  have 
arranged  them  to  bear  simply  upon  the  point  we  are 
considering,  —  adolescent  boyhood.  How  general  the 
expression  of  this  social  instinct  is,  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  of  1,034  responses  of  boys  from  ten  to  sixteen, 
851  were  members  of  such  societies.  This  did  not  in- 
clude societies  formed  for  boys  by  elders,  and  it  did 
include  many  boys  who  from  isolation  never  had  the 
slightest  chance  for  such  society  making. 

The  study  of  the  societies  which  chil- 

f  Ch'M^^^^*^       dren  spontaneously  form  ought  to  be 

Societies  more   suggestive    than    that   of    those 

which  elders  in  their  adult  wisdom  or 

ignorance  form  for  them.     If   will   is  only  interest, 

interest  should  be  the  best  criterion  of  how  to  help 

St 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

the  will.  From  1,022  papers  collected  there  were 
reported  862  societies.  Sixty-four  boys  belonged  to 
more  than  one  society.  The  ages  were  ten  to  seven- 
teen.    Of  623  societies,  fully  described: 

Those  having  secrets  numbered  23,  or  3J  per  cent. 

Social  clubs  (for  "  good  times  *')  numbered  28,  or 
4J  per  cent. 

Industrial  organizations  numbered  56,  or  8^  per  cent. 

Philanthropic  associations  numbered  10,  or  IJ  per 
cent. 

Literary,  art  and  musical  clubs  numbered  28,  or  4i 
per  cent. 

Predatory  societies  (migratory,  building,  hunting, 
fighting,  preying)  numbered  105,  or  17  per  cent. 

Athletic  and  game  clubs  numbered  379,  or  61  percent. 

The  ages  eleven,  twelve  and  thirteen  were  the  ages 
of  the  largest  number  of  societies  formed,  the  numbers 
being:  at  eight,  28;  at  nine,  44;  at  ten,  118;  at  eleven, 
155;  at  twelve,  164;  at  thirteen,  188;  at  fourteen,  90; 
at  fifteen,  80;  at  sixteen,  34;  at  seventeen,  11. 

We  need  not  treat  these  figures  so  seriously  as  to 
consider  them  everywhere  infallible,  but  they  certainly 
confirm  the  observations  which  we  have  made  ourselves. 

We  notice  the  following  facts: 

1.  The  period  of  greatest  activity  of  these  societies 
is  between  ten  and  fifteen,  over  87  per  cent  being 
formed  during  that  period,  only  7  per  cent  before  ten 
and  only  1  per  cent  being  formed  at  seventeen.  This 
is  accounted  for  by  the  growth  of  the  social  disposition 
with  adolescence  and,  in  a  lesser  degree,  by  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  earlier  societies  persisted  later,  and 
also  because  in  later  years   the  church  and   school 

68 


WAYS        BO  Y  S        ORGANIZE 

societies  formed  by  elders  take  the  place  of  many 
voluntary  societies. 

2.  Physical  activity  is  the  key-note  of  these  societies 
at  all  ages.  The  predatory  and  athletic  societies 
number  77  per  cent.  Add  to  these  the  industrial  and 
we  have  85J  per  cent  of  the  whole. 

3.  The  literary,  art  and  musical  interests  are  very 
small,  while  the  philanthropic  and  religious  are  in- 
finitesimal. 

4.  The  interest  in  athletic  societies  increases  by 
leaps  from  eight  to  thirteen,  and  then  diminishes  with 
even  greater  rapidity  toward  the  end,  while  the  interest 
in  literary  societies,  though  never  very  large,  grows  with 
maturity.  The  predatory  societies  are  at  their  highest 
at  eleven,  and  thence  gradually  disappear. 

The  boys'  societies  are  largely  smamer  societies. 
Had  the  figures  been  so  classified  as  to  show  this  ac- 
curately we  should  perhaps  find  that  the  literary  and 
philanthropic  features  do  really  have  some  importance 
in  the  months  when  outdoor  activity  is  restrained.  With 
this  limitation  recognized,  we  must  still  believe  that  phy- 
sical activity  is  the  interest  central  throughout  the  3^ear. 

5.  Girls  and  boys  do  not  naturally  organize  to- 
gether. Dr.  Sheldon's  paper  shows  that  the  interests 
of  boys  and  girls  in  their  societies  are  nowhere  parallel. 
Girls  form  three  times  as  many  secret  societies  as  boys, 
five  times  as  many  social  societies,  three  times  as  many 
industrial,  twice  as  many  philanthropic  and  three  times 
as  many  literary,  while  the  boys  form  four  times  as 
many  predatory  and  seven  times  as  many  athletic  so- 
cieties as  the  girls.  Physical  activity  was  the  feature 
in  10  per  cent  of  the  girls'  as  against  77  per  cent  of  the 

« 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

boys'  societies.  Three  hundred  and  eighty-four  girls  as 
against  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  boys  were  found 
in  societies  formed  for  children  by  adults.  "  Girls  are 
more  nearly  governed  by  adult  motives  than  boys. 
They  organize  to  promote  sociability,  to  advance 
their  interests,  to  improve  themselves  and  others. 
Boys  are  nearly  primitive  man:  they  associate  to 
hunt,  fish,  roam,  fight  and  to  contest  physical  superi- 
ority with  each  other." 

.  If  these  facts  mean  anything  in  the 

way  of  instruction,  they  mean  this: 

1.  Boys  should  be  sought  just  before  their  own 
social  development  tends  to  become  dangerous,  at 
about  ten,  and  held  until  the  organizing  craze  is  over 
and  thfe  years  of  adolescence  are  well  past.  Dr.  Sheldon 
found  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  boys  in  societies 
formed  for  them  by  adults,  of  whom  all  but  forty  were 
from  ten  to  fifteen,  but  only  seven  of  whom  were 
beyond  fifteen.  Is  it  not  almost  more  dangerous  to 
hold  a  boy  till  the  most  critical  year  of  his  life  and 
then  let  him  go  than  not  to  touch  him  at  all? 

2.  Physical  activity  must  be  made  the  basis  of  social 
work  for  boys  if  it  is  to  reach  and  hold  their  natural  in- 
terests. Other  things  may  be  accepted  or  endured  by 
them,  but  this  is  what  they  care  for.  A  contact  which 
begins  with  athletics,  walks,  physical  development  and 
manual  training  may  ripen  into  the  literary,  the  scien- 
tific, the  ethical  and  the  religious  influences.  But  it 
would  seem  wise  to  utilize  the  ruder  instincts  which  are 
on  the  surface  before  reaching  down  to  the  deeper  ones. 

3.  Wherever  possible,  girls  and  boys  should  be  or- 
ganiEcd  separately.    Before  adolescence  they  are  not 


WAYS        BOYS        ORGANIZE 

interested  in  the  same  things  nor  in  each  other.  In  all 
social  work  constant  intimacy  between  maturing  boys 
and  girls  fosters  an  undesirable  precocity  and  intro- 
duces unnecessarily  perplexing  problems.  The  boys 
should  have  male,  or  at  least  virile,  leaders.  The 
women  who  succeed  in  work  with  boys  are  usually 
those  who  can  do  something  the  boys  like  to  do  better 
than  the  boys  can.  The  ideals  and  capacities  of  most 
women  leaders  do  not  point  to  the  highest  efficiency/ 
with  boys  of  the  adolescent  period,  while  a  manly  man 
with  some  slight  athletic  prowess,  a  willingness  to 
answer  questions  and  patience  to  guide  by  adaptability 
rather  than  by  domineering,  can  do  almost  anything 
with  a  group  of  boys.  Here,  however,  a  strong  and 
emphatic  exception  must  be  made  on  account  of  an- 
other of  those  many  victories  which  woman  is  constantly 
winning  by  means  of  her  intuitions.  Sympathy  in 
woman  will  do  with  boys  what  strength  does  in  man, 
and  many  of  the  most  successful  workers  with  boys 
are  women. 

Three  facts  that  have  not  been  mentioned  must  be 
named,  which  will  appear  in  new  light  from  the  knowl- 
edge gathered  in  the  first  chapter.  One  is  the  fact 
that  the  instincts  upon  which  the  activities  even  of 
the  worst  "  gang  "  are  built  are  the  innocent  and  \ 
natural  ones  of  adolescence.  To  get  together,  to  work 
off  physical  energy,  to  roam,  to  contest,  to  gather 
treasures  and  meet  new  experiences,  and  —  a  little 
later  • —  to  enjoy  female  society:  these  are  not  in  them- 
selves mischievous  desires.  Again,  when  child-societies 
are  at  their  best  they  often  do  very  charming  and 
adnjrable  things.    They  build,  they  work  together, 

01 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

they  parade,  they  revive  old  folk  games,  they  imitate 
the  employments  and  festivals  of  their  elders.  As  Co- 
lozza  tells  us,  all  "  child  societies  are  play  societies. 
Play  is  a  great  social  stimulus.  The  lively  pleasure 
which  is  felt  in  play  is  the  prime  motive  which  unites 
children."  We  see  here  not  only  the  fact  that  play 
educates  individually,  upon  which  I  shall  say  more 
later,  but  that  it  educates  socially.  However  serious 
may  be  the  purpose  which  adults  have  in  forming 
societies  among  children,  I  think  it  to  be  essential  to 
approach  them  joyously,  even  gaily.  Let  there  be  even 
in  the  instrument  of  highest  spiritual  aim  not  only  a 
play  method  but  the  play  spirit.  Otherwise  the  child 
must  feel,  "  Oh,  that  tiresome  grown-up  person-with-a- 
mission!  Does  he  not  know  that  I  live  in  a  world  of 
play?  Why  will  he  drag  me  off  to  his  world  of  work, 
instead  of  coming  into  mine?  "  The  instincts  which 
already  exist  in  child  societies  are  those  which  we  are 
to  imitate  and  transform  to  their  best  uses. 

The  temporariness  of  these  societies,  which  is  almost 
universal,  I  should  say,  is  interpreted  by  the  truth  we 
have  learned:  that  the  social  consciousness  is  not  yet 
complete.  It  never  is,  in  many  of  us.  Not  every  man 
is  a  clubable  man.  Jealousy  is  the  explosive  that 
most  frequently  destroys  the  child's  club.  If  there  is 
any  organization  at  all  it  is  apt  to  be  that  of  an  unlim- 
ited monarchy.  When  a  second  boy  wants  to  be  mon- 
arch the  trouble  begins.  The  matter  is  often  settled, 
as  in  a  colony  of  bees,  by  the  new  monarch  withdrawing 
with  his  own  satellites  and  forming  a  new  kingdom. 
The  unsatisfactoriness  of  these  frequent  changes,  and 
the  desire  for  organization  that  shall  be  permanent 


WAYS        BOYS        ORGANIZE 

enough  for  enjoyment,  explains  some  of  the  willing- 
ness which  boys  show  for  adult  intervention.  This  is 
why  I  think  questions  of  leadership  and  parliamentary 
law,  which  are  so  vexing  at  this  age,  should  be  firmly 
dismissed  by  an  adult  leader,  and  his  organization 
become  as  far  as  possible  a  democracy  with  himself 
the  hero  and  leader  of  the  "  gang." 

But  the  most  important  thing  to  be 
Importance  of      g^^j^  jj^  ^j^j^  chapter  is  that  some  oppor- 

the  Social  -       -x      x  xu-  •     4.-     ±   - 

J    ^^  tunity  to  express  this  gang-mstmct  is 

absolutely    necessary    for    the    proper 

social  education  of  every  boy.    There  simply  is  no 

other  way  under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  he 

must  be  saved  from  narrowness  of  mind,  selfishness 

and  self-conceit.     Did  you  ever  go  to  college  with  a 

boy  who  was  an  only  child  and  who  had  been  prepared 

by  a  private  tutor?    Then  you  know  what  I  mean. 

Despite  the  risks,  there  seems  to  be  something  divinely 

ordained  as  well  as  characteristically  American  about 

the  democratic  rough-and-tumble  of  the  pubUc  school 

and   the   playground.     This   does   not  imply   that   a 

parent  will  let  his  son  play  wholly  unregarded  or  form 

fellowships  that  he  himself  knows  nothing  about,  but 

he  will  see  that  he  gets  a  chance  —  the  only  chance 

there  is  —  during  the  friendship-making  years,  and  by 

the  education  of  his  peers  to  learn  how  to  become  a 

firm  friend,  a  kind  neighbor  and  a  generous  citizen. 

For,  as  President  Hall  says,  "  The  gang  instinct  itself 

is  almost  a  cry  of  the  soul  to  be  influenced." 

There  are  a  good  many  other  things,  odd,  humorous 

or  suggestive,  about  the  spontaneous  institutions  of 

boyhood.     I  spoke  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  clan- 

08 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

ethics  of  the  "  gang.''  This  tribe  loyalty  usually  leads 
to  rivalry  between  gangs.  Sometimes  it  is  "  town  and 
gown  ";  most  often  it  is  between  neighborhoods  or 
streets;  sometimes  it  is  between  the  boys  of  neighboring 
cities.  A  few  years  ago,  it  always  meant  a  fight  when 
a  crowd  of  Charlestown  and  a  crowd  of  Cambridge 
boys  met  on  the  bridge  that  was  then  between  the  two 
cities.  The  social  settlement  clubs  are  very  careful  to 
consider  these  local  jealousies  by  not  forming  a  club 
from  more  than  one  neighborhood.  I  never  knew  this 
to  be  considered  in  a  church,  but  I  should  think  it 
might  sometimes  be  desirable  to  do  so.  There  is  gen- 
eral testimony  that  it  is  difficult  to  do  good  social  work 
with  poor  and  rich  children  at  the  same  time  and  place. 
It  ought  to  be  easier  among  boys  than  girls.  Physical 
prowess  is  a  great  leveler.  Respect  of  others  won  in 
physical  emulation  and  even  in  fighting  is  the  seed  of 
affection  and  awakened  kinship.  It  is  a  proverb  that 
"  Two  boys  never  can  become  chums  till  they  have  had 
a  fight."  In  some  ways  these  emulations  between  boys 
of  different  classes  can  be  produced  and  controlled  to 
the  advantage  of  both.  I  know  from  experience  that 
it  is  possible  in  this  age  of  ready  social  interests  to 
create  artificially  a  '*  gang  "  out  of  a  group  of  hitherto 
unrelated  boys  which  shall  develop  passionate  friend- 
ships and  loyalties,  constitute  a  lifelong  fellowship  and 
become  a  microcosm  of  the  social  ideal.  The  summer 
camp  sustained  by  the  rich  boys  of  the  Groton  School 
for  the  benefit  of  poor  boys  gives  some  encouragement 
in  this  direction.  The  democratic  influence  of  athletics 
in  our  public  schools  is,  I  believe,  one  of  the  saving 
forces  of  the  republic. 

64 


WAYS       BOYS        ORGANIZE 

In  passing  from  the  consideration  of  the  spontaneous 
groupings  of  boys,  we  may  remark  that  soon  after  six- 
teen the  social  instinct  takes  quite  a  new  form,  in  the 
"  pairing "  tendency.  The  boy  in  his  first  bve  is 
always  found  with  one  chosen  girl;  each  boy  also  has 
his  chum.  Two  chums  often  combine  with  two  girls, 
and  we  have  a  clique.  These  pairs  and  cliques  are'^ore 
interruptions  to  the  continuity  especially  of  church 
societies  for  young  people.  These  anti-social  tenden- 
cies arising  so  late  and  so  unexpectedly,  are  baffling 
because  they  are  among  those  who  have  arrived  at  a 
maturing  and  independent  age.  Though  difficult,  they 
are  not  discouraging,  for  they  mark  the  rise  of  the  great 
loves  and  friendships  of  life. 

The  social  instinct  thus  describes  a  circle.  The  phases 
of  childhood,  adolescence  and  maturit)^  are  these: 
domestic,  anti-domestic,  domestic;  education  by  one's 
elders,  by  one's  contemporaries,  by  one's  children. 
Life  swings  out  from  the  home  and  back  to  it  again. 
During  the  anti-domestic  age  of  adolescence,  social 
opportunities  are  greatest.  The  return  to  the  home 
with  maturity  and  the  subsequent  giving  birth  to 
children  begin  a  new  circle  in  another  generation. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BoNSER,  F.  G.     Chums:  A  Study  of  Youthful  Friendships.    Pedaoogical 

Seminary,  1902. 
Bbownb,  Thos.  J.     The  Clan  or  Gang  Instinot  in  Boys.    Auociation  Out- 

look,  1900;  Aaaociation  Seminar,  1901. 
GuucK,  Luther  H.     The  Psychological,  Pedagogical  and  Religious  Asi>ect8 

of  Group  Games.  Pedagogical  Seminary,  1899;  Attociation  Outlook,  1900. 
Scott,  #ohn  H.    The  Social  Instinct  and  Its  Development.    Auociation 

Seminar,  1905. 
Shsldon,  Hbkrt  D.    The  Institutional  Aotivitiea  of  Amerioan  Children. 

American  Journal  of  Psychology,  1899. 

65 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


IV 

SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS  FORMED  FOR  BOYS 
BY  ADULTS 

As  detailed  descriptions  of  the  many  methods  that 
are  being  used  to  help  boys  are  found  in  the  literature 
of  the  different  movements,  it  seems  sufficient  to  give 
the  briefest  analysis  of  the  worth  of  most  of  them,  with 
a  fuller  discussion  of  plans  that  are  especially  sug- 
gestive. One  or  two  general  remarks  may  be  made 
at  the  start.  No  one  of  these  plans  is  "  the  best." 
The  personality  of  the  leader  counts  so  much  that  many 
a  plan  that "  works  "  in  one  place  will  not  do  in  another, 
and  such  is  the  fickleness  of  the  adolescent  boy  that  no 
one  plan  is  of  perpetual  or  all-inclusive  value.  There 
is  no  patent  way  of  saving  boys.  The  methods  that 
are  generally  successful  seem  to  be  those  that  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  follow  the  suggestions  drawn 
from  the  facts  presented  at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
chapter.  There  are  a  number  of  organizations  of  most 
worthy  purpose,  usually  originated  and  "  manned  "  by 
women,  that  have  neglected  the  instincts  of  boys  for 
play,  athletics  and  organizing  apart  from  girls,  that 
have  practically  become  as  feminine  in  membership  as 
in  leadership  and  in  ideals.  Nearly  every  plan  has  its 
one  strong  point,  a  few  have  several  good  ideals,  some 
could  be  easily  strengthened  by  imitation  of  others,  and 
some  would  be  worth  while  only  as  supplementary. 
This  latter  statement  is  true  of  those  societies  that 
stand  for  a  single  civic  or  ethical  virtue. 

66 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

The  various  methods  which  will  be  mentioned  divide 
into  two  classes:  those  which  have  and  those  which  have 
not  the  religious  element.  Some  will  tell  us  that  this 
division  is  also  a  caste  line,  and  that  the  community 
clubs  reach  street  boys  while  the  church  clubs  reach 
only  boys  from  good  homes.  I  fear  this  is  often  true. 
•The  exact  fact  is  that  the  community  clubs  in  ignoring 
the  religious  element  are  able  to  reach  Protestant, 
Romanist  and  Hebrew,  which  no  single  church  can  do. 
If  one  believes  the  community  clubs  are  therein  faulty, 
he  must  also  remember  that  they  are  more  widely  in- 
clusive. The  community  clubs  are  by  no  means  anti- 
religious,  and  are  heartily  willing  to  encourage  their 
boys  to  supplement  their  club  life  with  the  religious 
influences  of  their  respective  faiths.  The  two  types 
must  be  recognized  and  each  may  well  be  more  tolerant 
of  the  other.  In  the  community  clubs  we  study  every 
form  of  pedagogy  except  the  religious.  In  the  church 
clubs  religious  pedagogy  is  central,  and  the  other  forms 
are  usually  subsidiary.  The  former  propose  to  make 
good  men,  impelled  by  every  true  motive  except  the 
religious,  which  they  leave  the  church  to  give.  The 
latter  should  propose  to  make  good  men,  impelled  by 
every  true  motive,  including  the  religious.  Probably 
the  community  club  can  make  the  more  boys  good  and 
the  church  club  can  make  the  fewer  boys  better. 

_    .  Amone  the  non-religious  or  "  corn- 

Mass  Clubs  .^        ,    1      „      1..   1  •  ^  .  -x- 

munity  clubs  which  exist  in  our  cities 
we  find  two  theories  which  seem  to  be  radically  differ- 
ent. The  "  mass  clubs  "  have  one,  and  the  "  group 
clubs  "  (usually  in  connection  with  social  settlements), 
have  the  other.    I  think  Mr.  William  A.  Clark,  the  head 

67 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

of  Gordon  House,  has  fairly  stated  the  settlement 
view: 

"  The  boys^  club  of  twenty  years  ago  was  a  very 
simple  affair.  The  membership  in  such  a  club  varied 
from  800  to  2,500.  Any  boy  in  the  city  could  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  club.  The  workers  consisted  of  a  door- 
keeper, librarian  and  superintendent.  During  the  club 
session  the  superintendent  was  obliged  to  walk  about 
the  rooms  as  a  moral  policeman.  Occasionally  visitors 
from  the  various  churches  came  to  assist  by  playing 
games  with  the  boys.  Later  a  few  industrial  classes, 
such  as  carpentry,  clay-modeling,  wood-carving,  cob- 
bling, typesetting,  etc.,  were  added.  A  penny  savings 
bank  was  a  leading  feature  of  this  sort  of  club,  and 
occasional  entertainments.  Finally,  with  this  plan,  it 
is  possible  to  have  an  exceedingly  large  membership. 
This  in  itself  is  a  strong  feature  in  the  minds  of  many. 
Large  figures  look  prosperous  in  a  report. 

"  With  the  advent  of  the  university 
settlement  p.  new  kind  of  club  came 
into  being.  It  differs  from  the  old  plan  radically  in 
that  it  is  always  very  much  smaller.  The  most  char- 
acteristic plan  of  a  Settlement  Boys'  Club  in  brief  is 
this:  A  group  of  boys,  eight  or  ten,  usually  of  the  same 
gang,  all  coming  from  the  immediate  neighborhood. 
This  neighborhood  idea  is,  as  you  know,  one  of  the 
basal  principles  of  the  settlement.  Such  a  group  usu- 
ally meets  once  or  twice  a  week  in  charge  of  a  leader. 
The  program  for  the  little  club  varies  with  the  taste  of 
the  leader  and  the  boys.  The  leader,  as  a  rule,  is  a 
person  of  refinement. 

"  The  legitimate  aim  of  the  large  club  is  to  keep  as 

68 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

many  boys  as  possible  off  the  street,  giving  them  a 
cheerful  room  with  games  and  books.  The  aim  of  the 
settlement  is  to  take  a  small  group,  and  through  a 
refined,  tactful  leader  '  with  a  social  soul,*  as  one  man 
expresses  it,  moralize  these  boys  by  the  power  of  friend- 
ship. The  superintendent  of  a  club  of  fifteen  hundred, 
assuming  that  he  is  equally  as  well  educated  and  re- 
fined as  the  settlement  type  of  man,  can  only  be  a 
friend  to  these  boys  in  theory.  Friendship  means 
knowledge.  No  man  can  know  fifteen  hundred  boys. 
Most  workers  find  it  hard  enough  to  know  ten  boys  well. 

"And  yet  the  esprit  de  corps  of  one  hundred  boys,  for 
instance,  is  different  from  the  esprit  de  corps  of  a  group 
of  ten.  Personally,  I  believe  that  the  group  idea  and 
the  mass  idea  should  be  combined  in  the  plan  of  the 
club.  The  old  type  of  club  has  features  of  strength 
which  should  not  be  lost  in  the  new  plan." 

Thus  far  the  group  clubs  seem  to  have  the  advantage. 
They  are  further  strong  in  that  the  boys'  club  is  often 
one  of  an  ascending  group  of  clubs,  embracing  the 
whole  family  and  giving  a  place  into  which  the  boy  may 
graduate.  In  thoroughness,  comprehensiveness  and 
the  power  of  personality,  the  group  club  is  a  model 
social  instrument. 

The  mass  club,  however,  is  open  every  night  to 
every  boy.  To  keep  a  boy  off  the  street  every  night 
in  the  week  is  what  the  mass  clubs  actually  do.  "  If 
we  can  only  keep  the  boy  where  he  can  be  found  when 
he  is  wanted,"  says  Thomas  Chew,  "  we  are  doing  a 
good  deal."  The  mass  clubs  propose  to  reach  the 
toughest  boys  in  the  city;  the  group  clubs  as  frankly 
do  not.    It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  street  arab  is  un- 

69 


THE  BOY         PROBLEM 

likely  to  enter  voluntarily  under  the  surveillance  and 
patronage  of  a  refined  lady  or  gentleman  from  the 
Back  Bay  in  a  small  room,  and  that  while  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mass  club  may  not  know  each  arab  per- 
sonally, each  arab  will  know  him.  Mr.  Chew  argues 
that  as  the  influence  of  Washington  and  Lincoln  ex- 
tended farther  than  the  limits  of  their  personal 
acquaintance,  so  the  boys'  club  superintendent  is  the 
hero  and  guide  to  a  much  larger  circle  than  he  can 
personally  know.  It  is  also  true  that  the  mass  club 
superintendent  serves  a  much  longer  time  in  one  club 
than  does  the  volunteer  settlement  worker,  and  that 
he  knows  the  boy  on  the  street,  in  the  school-yard  and 
in  the  police  court  as  well  as  in  the  orthodox  way  in 
the  home.  The  tendency  of  all  social  work  is  to  draw 
away  from  the  very  poor  and  unlovable.  The  intro- 
duction of  a  fine  building  or  equipment  in  the  section 
of  the  very  poor  has  sometimes  estranged  the  very 
class  for  which  it  was  provided,  and  has  caused  its 
activities  to  be  regarded  as  charitable  doles  rather  than 
as  social  brotherhood.  The  mass  club  occupies  a  field 
that  no  other  organization  attempts  to  fill,  and  one  in 
which  the  settlement  would  fail  if,  alone,  it  tried  to  fill 
it.  There  are  over  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  such 
clubs  in  this  country,  and  they  probably  reach  at  least 
fifty  thousand  boys  each  year. 

The  two  forms  of  work  seem  to  be  learning  from  each 
other.  The  mass  plan  has  the  advantage  of  bringing 
a  very  large  number  of  needy  boys  under  wholesome 
influence,  removing  them  from  the  street  and  filling 
their  minds  and  hands  too  full  for  the  organization  of 
mischief.     By  using  the  mass  idea  first,  the  suspicibns 

70 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

and  feelings  of  restraint  that  would  be  excited  by  the 
confinement  of  a  group  are  done  away  with,  the  wilder 
physical  instincts  are  satisfied  first,  that  spectacular 
element  that  is  in  every  street  boy's  life  gets  some 
recognition  and  time  is  given  the  boy  to  settle  down  to 
the  quieter  group  methods.  Thus  some  settlements 
keep  their  new  boys  in  the  gymnasium  and  the  large 
assembly-room  for  a  time  before  admitting  them  to 
the  group  clubs.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mass  club 
director  does  not  deal  with  boys  in  the  mass  because 
he  likes  to.  As  far  as  he  sees  the  need  of  individual 
workers  who  will  divide  the  mass  into  groups,  and  as 
far  as  he  succeeds  in  getting  such  workers,  he  is  doing 
so  and  is  thus  approaching  the  group  plan  of  the 
settlement  clubs.  The  best  mass  club  workers  reach 
the  homes  of  their  boys  as  regularly  as  does  the  average 
pastor  those  of  his  people.  It  is  equally  true  that  many 
a  group  club  leader  sighs  for  the  splendid  esprit  de 
corps  of  the  larger  club,  where  the  boys  never  feel  that 
they  are  being  patronized  and  really  believe  they  own 
the  whole  building. 

Sometimes  the  group  idea  is  carried  to  an  extreme. 
I  once  visited  a  settlement  at  night  and  asked  to  see 
its  boys'  work.  We  went  to  the  top  story  of  a  build- 
ing and,  after  a  search  for  a  key,  succeeded  in  entering 
a  dark  room  where  there  were  some  sloyd  benches, 
which  I  was  assured  were  used  on  "  some  other  even- 
ings." A  group  of  young  men  was  also  seen  in  another 
small  room.  No  doubt  a  few  boys  were  being  very 
thoroughly  helped,  but  somehow  it  seemed  like  knit- 
ting-work. On  the  same  evening  in  an  old  ramshackle 
building  in  the  same  city  a  hundred  and  fifty  boys  were 

71 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

crowding  the  rooms  to  the  doors  with  their  games, 
gymnastics  and  classes  in  a  mass  club,  and  were  doing 
so  every  night  in  the  week.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  being  graduated  into  the  street  in  droves  at  six- 
teen for  lack  of  room  and  of  any  wise  institution  to 
receive  them.  Here  we  see  the  two  dangers,  —  in  one 
plan,  of  coddling  a  few;  in  the  other,  of  providing  no 
resources  for  the  many  until  the  ages  of  immaturity 
and  special  temptation  are  over. 

Both  kinds  of  clubs  are  reaching  out  rapidly  into 
new  fields  of  work,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  modifica- 
tions are  soon  to  appear  in  many  institutions.  Both 
are  emphasizing  and  receiving  splendid  results  from 
summer  work  in  club  farms,  excursions,  camps,  club 
gardens  and  vacation  schools.  The  police  court  work 
of  the  mass  club  director  is  believed  to  be  forming  an 
important  influence  upon  those  who  are  at  the  brink 
of  a  criminal  career.  The  group  clubs,  again,  are 
strengthening  their  groups  by  insisting  that  the  vol- 
unteer workers  who  are  leaders  shall  regard  their  work 
not  as  a  sentimental  fad  or  temporary  mission,  but  that 
they  remain  long  enough  to  let  their  refined  personalities 
arail  for  something  of  permanence. 

In  large  clubs,  especially  street  boys'  clubs,  two  im- 
portant things  should  not  be  neglected.  One  thing  is 
to  arrange  some  way  by  which  the  boys  as  they  get 
crowded  out  of  the  club  by  age  shall  be  graduated  into 
some  other  wholesome  organization.  The  other  thing 
is  for  the  director  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  religious 
care  by  standing  ready  to  furnish  to  each  priest  and 
pastor  in  the  community  the  list  of  boys  of  each  church 
who  attend  his  club.    The  club  should  supplement 

73 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

itself  in  this  way  by  affiliation  with  every  possible 
moral  agency. 

A  very  deep  question  is  as  to  the  relation  of  all  this 
work  to  that  fundamental  institution,  the  home.  The 
craze  for  organization  and  cooperative  activity,  ap- 
parent among  society  people  even  more  than  among 
the  poor,  and  among  adults  more  than  among  children, 
suggests  the  dire  possibility  that  human  life  may 
sometime  become  one  great  club  system.  As  to  street 
boys  it  seems  sufficient  to  reply  that  they  will  not  stay 
at  home  anyway.  With  Frank  S.  Mason,  founder  of 
the  Bunker  Hill  Boys'  Club,  we  may  say:  "  It  is  a  true 
and  trite  saying  that  a  good  home  is  a  better  place  for 
a  boy  at  night  than  a  boys*  club.  If  all  homes  were 
perfect  homes,  then  would  the  boys'  club  be  useless; 
if  it  were  possible  to  reform  many  homes,  it  would  not 
be  necessary  to  form  boys'  clubs;  if  it  were  possible  for 
public  school  teachers  to  stand  in  the  same  relation  to 
their  classes  as  does  the  director  to  the  members  of  his 
club,  there  would  be  no  need  of  boys'  clubs;  could  the 
churches  be  inspired  to  do  this  kind  of  work,  and  do  it 
with  the  breadth  with  which  it  is  done  in  the  boys' 
club,  the  boys'  club  would  have  no  existence.  It  is, 
therefore,  in  my  mind,  an  important,  but  not  the  only 
means  of  reaching  the  boy,  and  it,  as  well  as  other 
possible  means,  should  be  pushed  to  the  utmost  in 
every  city  and  town  in  the  country." 

Without  going  into  the  matter  of  the  tendencies  of 
other  organizations  as  to  the  home,  there  are  already 
manifest  in  the  boys'  club  movement  some  signs  that 
are  encouraging  in  this  regard.  The  activities  of  the 
club  themselves  react  upon   the  home.    Boys   bring 

78 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

artistic  handiwork  to  adorn  the  home,  and  papers  and 
books  to  be  read  at  home;  boys  learn  to  cook,  to  repair 
and  make  furniture  and  to  cobble  shoes,  and  apply  this 
knowledge  at  home;  boys  are  given  unfinished  work  to 
take  home  and  complete.  Both  the  settlements  and  the 
mass  clubs  find  that  they  begin  with  the  boy  but  cannot 
finish  their  work  until  they  touch  the  rest  of  the  family. 
At  Lincoln  House,  Boston,  the  elaborate  system  of 
scores  of  clubs  —  of  children,  boys,  girls,  young  men, 
young  women,  fathers,  mothers,  reaching  twelve  hun- 
dred people  —  actually  grew  out  of  one  club  for  boys. 
This  is  the  natural  tendency  everywhere.  The  result 
of  these  indications  is  to  draw  out  from  their  homes 
for  one  or  more  times  a  week  the  children  and  then  the 
parents,  to  inspire  and  teach  them  and  give  them  new 
resources,  trusting  that  they  will  return  and  apply  these 
acquisitions  in  home  life.  A  more  normal  way  of  help- 
ing the  home  would  seem  to  be  that  of  theHome  Library 
System.  The  aim  here  is  the  opposite  one,  of  going 
into  the  home  and  stimulating  its  better  elements. 
The  plan  is  this: — A  book-shelf  of  books  is  loaned  to  a 
poor  home  and  a  volunteer  visitor  comes  in,  not  to  talk 
religion  or  morals  or  give  charity,  but  to  gather  a  group 
of  eight  or  ten  children  and  read  to  them.  Games  and 
pictures  are  circulated  in  the  same  way  and  the  pass- 
books of  the  Stamp  Saving  Society  are  distributed 
and  collected.  The  ways  in  which  this  plan  refines, 
educates,  encourages  cleanliness,  morality,  frugality, 
sobriety,  pride  in  the  home  and  the  genuine  spirit  of 
friendship,  and  satisfies  the  play-instinct  and  the  social 
nature  may  be  readily  imagined.  The  only  trouble 
with  this  splendid  idea  is  that  it  is  millennial.  The  poor 

74 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

want  the  excitement  of  the  street  and  of  the  crowd, 
and  the  good  people  who  might  come  to  help  want  to 
do  something  that  is  connected  with  an  annual  report, 
an  institution  and  the  fellowship  of  other  refined  folk, 
who  are  also  workers.  Yet  this  sort  of  thing  is  some- 
thing that  anybody  can  start  right  off  and  do,  and 
without  waiting  for  anybody  else  to  begin  or  to  or- 
ganize. At  the  South  End  House  in  Boston  the  Home 
Library  plan  has  been  used  as  a  corrective  to  the  anti- 
domestic  and  the  institutionalizing  tendencies.  The 
scheme  is  to  plant  these  home  libraries  as  outposts 
through  different  parts  of  the  neighborhood  rather  than 
to  group  all  the  clubs  in  one  large  building.  It  may 
be  desirable  and  possible  to  satisfy  both  this  love  for 
the  larger  social  atmosphere  and  that  for  the  domestic 
circle  among  the  same  people  by  coordinating  the  two 
methods. 

Another  agency  for  helping  the  city 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  ^^y  '^^  which  the  religious  element  is 

present  is  that  of  the  Boys*  Branch  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  boys'  de- 
partment was  an  afterthought,  and  in  few  of  the  Asso- 
ciation buildings  was  adequate  provision  made  for  it. 
But  the  officers  of  the  international  movement  are 
awakening  to  its  importance  and,  with  the  present 
emphasis  upon  the  religious  crisis  of  adolescence,  it  is 
rapidly  becoming  the  most  important  thing  in  Associa- 
tion work.  The  Associations  have  an  almost  ideal 
equipment  for  boys'  work,  but  the  fact  that  it  is  mo- 
nopolized by  the  men  at  the  time  when  the  street  boys 
can  use  it  has  emphasized  the  tendency,  which  the 
prohibitive  fees  and  the  general  trend  of  the  Association 

75 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

work  have  made,  to  adapt  the  work  to  schoolboys  of 
the  upper  and  middle  classes  of  society.  There  is 
certainly  need  enough  in  our  large  cities  of  an  institu- 
tion especially  for  these  boys,  who  are  as  much  in 
danger  physically  and  morally  as  those  who  are  poorer. 
A  plan  which  has  been  adopted  lately  with  excellent 
wisdom  is,  when  an  old  building  is  abandoned  for  a 
better  one,  not  to  sell  it,  but  to  give  it  entirely  to  the 
boys'  department.  This  has  suggested  the  possibility 
that  the  boys'  departments  which  have  this  special 
equipment  may  enter  into  work  for  street  boys  upon 
broader  lines  than  heretofore.  The  admirable  inter- 
national organization,  with  its  centralized  office  and 
close  oversight  of  its  branches,  would  certainly  give 
an  executive  and  economical  direction  which  the  street 
boys'  clubs  in  their  scattered  efforts  have  sorely  lacked. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  diflScult  to  see  how  the  Asso- 
ciation, confined  in  its  support  and  ideals  to  Protestant 
people  of  the  evangelical  type,  could  work  in  Hebrew, 
Irish  or  French  neighborhoods  successfully  unless  it 
curtailed  its  distinctively  religious  methods. 

The  Association,  although  its  boys'  work  is  so  new, 
has  already  gone  into  many  suggestive  departments 
of  work,  some  of  which  are  enumerated  by  the  leader 
of  this  new  crusade,  Mr.  E.  M.  Robinson,  the  Inter- 
national Boys'  Work  secretary  of  the  movement:  "  The 
gymnasium,  with  its  swimming-tank  and  bathing 
facilities;  the  bowling-alleys,  the  basket-ball  leagues 
and  baseball  clubs,  football  games,  the  cross-country 
running,  the  outings,  bicycle  clubs,  rough  riders,  hiking 
clubs,  canoe  and  boat  clubs,  the  boys'  summer  camps, 
with  their  multitudinous  activities;    hospital   corps, 

76 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

drum-corps,  the  small  clubs  in  the  building,  camera 
clubs,  stamp  clubs,  coin  clubs,  magic  clubs,  natural 
history  clubs,  educational  clubs,  observation  parties, 
popular  talks,  illustrated  lectures,  library,  reading- 
rooms,  games,  debates,  literary  societies,  the  educa- 
tional and  industrial  classes,  sloyd,  carpentry,  printing, 
electricity,  scroll-sawing,  basket-making,  etching, 
sketching,  poster-painting,  music,  commercial  branches 
and  English,  the  committee  service  of  boys  and  con- 
ferences and  conventions  of  boys,  the  gospel  meetings, 
prayer-meetings,  Bible  classes  of  various  kinds,  with 
blackboard,  water-colors,  paper-pulp  maps  and  models; 
stereopticon  and  illustrated  lessons,  chalk  talks,  chemical 
talks.  Yoke  Fellows'  Bands,  missionary  classes,  junior 
volunteer  leagues,  personal  workers'  bands,  etc."  One 
of  the  latest  outgrowths  which  the  Association  with  its 
splendid  athletic  history  is  excellently  well  fitted  to 
lead  is  the  developing  and  federating  of  athletics  in  the 
Sunday-schools  of  a  city  by  Sunday-school  athletic 
leagues.  But  of  all  these  no  doubt  the  most  important 
contribution  is  the  boys'  camp.  To  this  means  of  re- 
turn to  the  natural  country  of  boyhood,  the  free  life 
of  out-of-doors,  the  Association  has  applied  itself  with 
large  wisdom  and  patience.  The  interesting  light 
which  these  camps  throw  upon  boy  nature  and  boys' 
needs,  the  susceptibility  to  healthy  moral  and  religious 
impressions  at  these  places,  and  the  fruitful  results, 
I  shall  speak  of  in  another  chapter. 

The  boys'  department  of  the  Association  is  confer- 
ring many  benefits  upon  the  churches.  It  does  a  valu- 
able social  work  in  bringing  together  boys  from  different 
localities  and  churches.    In  many  great  cities  it  deals 

77 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

with  as  many  boys  who  are  outside  as  are  inside 
churches.  In  other  places  the  preponderance  of  girls 
in  the  young  people's  societies  and  the  lack  of  Sunday- 
school  lessons  and  methods  adaptable  to  boys  has  laid 
upon  it  a  great  opportunity  and  burden.  The  Asso- 
ciation is  teaching  the  churches  many  lessons  as  to  the 
ways  to  approach  boys,  the  desirability  of  organizing 
them  apart  from  girls  and  of  recognizing  the  various 
ages  and  the  way  to  teach  them  the  Bible  and  religion. 
In  its  triangle  representing  "  Spirit,  Mind  and  Body,'* 
its  aim  is  all-round  development  of  the  entire  nature. 
Too  often  the  church  has  thought  of  the  boy  as  all 
spirit.  In  some  small  cities  I  have  felt  that  the  superior 
success  of  the  Association  has  created  a  clashing  with 
the  churches.  Must  the  Association  always  insist  on 
having  all  parts  of  the  triangle  represented  in  its  own 
walls?  Might  it  not  be  better  sometimes  if  the  Asso- 
ciation in  its  boys'  work  should  be  largely  the  conven- 
ient federation  of  athletic  and  supplementary  agencies 
which  no  single  church  can  adequately  support,  while 
its  secretary  cooperates  in  helping  the  development  of 
means  of  spiritual  nurture  for  boys  in  the  churches  them- 
selves? I  am  persuaded  that  in  many  a  community 
the  pastors,  though  unable  to  provide  institutional 
features  for  their  boys,  have  very  carefully  planned 
spiritual  instrumentalities,  with  which  boys'  meetings, 
Bible  classes  and  committees  at  the  Association  are 
a  well-meant  but  unjustifiable  interference.  Let  the 
secretary  quietly  yield  to  every  effort  for  nurture  in  the 
local  church.  Instead  of  conducting  boys'  Bible  classes, 
let  the  secretary,  for  example,  be  the  teacher  of  the 
teachers  of  boys'  classes  in  the  separate  Sunday-schools. 

78 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

The  boys'  department  has  continually  to  fight 
against  a  foe  which  is  already  the  too-successful  enemy 
of  the  men's  department,  namely,  the  idea  that  one 
goes  to  the  Association  to  get  something,  that  the  fee 
of  $3,  $5  or  $8  represents  an  outlay  which  one  must 
scrupulously  insist  on  getting  back  in  the  form  of 
physical  benefits  or  even  of  spiritual  blessings.  It  is 
against  this  tendency,  which  associates  itself  so  readily 
with  the  subjective  type  of  religion  which  the  Associa- 
tion used  to  foster,  that  Dr.  Luther  Gulick  has  waged 
such  a  determined  warfare.  It  is  the  remainder  of  that 
selfishness  in  religion  that  makes  many  a  Christian 
parent  feel  that  he  can  trust  better  the  approach,  the 
subsequent  care  and  the  product  of  religious  experience 
in  his  boy  in  the  church  than  in  the  Association.  The 
improvement  of  the  quality  of  men  who  take  up  the 
secretaryship  of  the  boys'  department  will  be  the  way 
to  overcome  this  tendency.  The  idea  that  a  more 
sentimental,  a  little  weaker-minded  and  a  somewhat 
nondescript  type  of  man  will  do  the  boys'  work,  and 
that  a  junior  secretaryship  is  only  a  stepping-stone  to 
something  higher  is  giving  place  to  the  recognition  that 
this  work  demands  the  life  consecration  of  men  of  the 
same  ability  and  training  as  the  public  school  masters 
of  boys  of  this  same  age.  The  practical  way  for  this 
reform  to  be  brought  about  will  be  for  the  communities 
which  support  the  Association  to  give  the  boys'  director 
a  somewhat  better  salary  than  that  of  an  assistant 
janitor  or  a  shipping-clerk.  One  of  the  finest  forces  to 
counteract  the  selfish  tendency  in  the  individual  mem- 
ber is  the  recent  effort  to  secure  evangelizing  of  boys  by 
their  own  Christian  fellows.     As  on  the  foreign  field  it 

70 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

is  the  native  worker  who  is  most  efficient,  so  a  boy  of 
one's  own  age  is  to  another  boy  the  "  native  worker  " 
most  adapted  to  lead  him  to  Christ.  The  influence 
of  such  altruism,  if  sincere  and  unaffected,  upon 
the  young  Christian  himself  is  most  enlarging  to 
the  soul. 

The  thought  that  the  boys'  department  exists  not 
for  itself  but  for  the  community  and  for  the  churches 
is  coming  into  slow  recognition.  A  few  Associations 
have  already  begun  to  plant  their  outposts  away  from 
their  fortresses,  their  own  buildings.  The  first  picket 
line  is  apt  to  be  the  boat-house  or  the  camp.  In 
many  instances  Associations  are  furnishing  gymnasium 
instructors  for  churches  and  street  boys'  clubs.  In 
some  small  places  the  secretary  gets  hold  of  a  "  gang  " 
before  it  becomes  dangerous  and  persuades  it  to  be- 
come affiliated  with  the  Association,  either  as  a  special 
club  in  the  main  building  or  as  an  outpost  branch. 
This  taking  advantage  of  the  neighborhood  and  "gang" 
spirit  is  an  intelligent  recognition  of  social  conditions, 
and  makes  it  possible  for  the  Association  to  do  a  much 
more  elastic  and  comprehensive  work. 

We  have  been  speaking  thus  far  of  instrumentalities 
suited  to  large  and  crowded  populations.  But  it  is 
coming  to  be  recognized  that  the  small  cities  and  the 
large  towns  also  have  their  boy  problem.  There  life 
is  a  smaller  pool  that  stirs  ceaselessly  about  itself,  and 
much  of  the  sin  which  in  the  great  city  flows  past  the 
child  on  the  wider  current  of  many  interests  sticks, 
because  of  the  influence  of  some  strong  evil  personality 
or  ,by  reason  of  the  greater  relative  importance  and 
strength  of  village  "  gangs,"  which  are  unrestrained  by 

80 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

uniformed  police  and  city  walls.  The  nearness  of  the 
country  is  both  the  danger  and  the  salvation  of  these 
boys,  for  the  boys  who  live  nearer  to  nature  are  more 
full  of  will  and  independence  either  for  good  or  for  evil, 
while  in  country  conditions  themselves  may  be  found 
the  antidotes  to  the  ills  of  boy  life. 

In  the  small  towns  and  in  larger  places  where 
Protestant  churches  predominate  I  am  persuaded  that 
this  work  may  best  b6  done  by  the  churches,  either 
formally  or  by  substantial  cooperation.  They  have 
the  workers  and  the  facilities.  If  it  be  true,  as  I  think 
it  is,  that  the  places  in  America  in  which  it  is  most 
desirable  to  live  are  the  large  towns  and  small  cities, 
one  great  reason  why  this  is  so  is  because  it  is  pos- 
sible in  such  places  to  coordinate  the  religious,  intel- 
lectual, social  and  physical  life  of  the  community,,  not 
for  boys  only,  but  for  all,  that  there  shall  be  no  barriers 
between  them,  but  that  all  shall  be  for  the  harmony 
of  well-rounded  human  development.  Contrary  to  the 
usual  impression,  I  believe  that  the  summer  as  much 
as  the  winter  is  in  such  places  a  favorable  time  for 
work  with  boys.  The  country-out-of-doors  itself  is  the 
best  laboratory,  the  best  club-house  for  boyow  Here 
they  are  at  home  and  so  are  known  and  dealt  with  at 
their  best  and  most  naturally.  It  used  to  be  thought 
that  boys  could  safely  be  left  to  themselves  during  the 
summer  vacation,  but  it  is  coming  to  be  realized  that 
this  is  the  time  when  the  gang-spirit  often  becomes 
most  obnoxious  and  that,  while  no  doubt  the  child 
absorbs  much  knowledge  and  power  from  Mother 
Nature,  yet  there  are  great  possibilities  in  directing  and 
interpreting  this  outdoor  education. 

81 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

An  experiment  which  made  this  em- 
School  phasis  upon  summer  activities  and  yet 
which  carried  the  boys  through  the  year 
in  a  large  country  town  was  that  of  the  Andover  Play 
School,  devised  and  superintended  by  George  E.  John- 
son, when  he  was  superintendent  of  public  schools  in 
Andover,  Mass.  Mr.  Johnson,  who  adds  to  the  quali- 
fications of  being  an  expert  athlete  and  an  authority 
upon  the  place  of  play  in  education  those  rare  traits 
which  win  confidence,  of  patience,  thoroughness  and 
perseverance  in  observation  and  effort,  brought  into 
being  a  social  institution  of  great  value  and  suggestive- 
ness.  It  had  a  far-reaching  influence  upon  the  vaca- 
tion school  movement  in  its  various  forms.  It  was 
based  upon  the  play-instinct  with  all  the  other  allied 
instincts  of  which  play  is  an  expression.  Its  purpose 
was  to  utilize  those  neglected  instincts  in  education,  and 
much  was  made  of  will-training  by  self-origination  and 
execution  of  handiwork.  Mr.  Johnson  describes  the 
plan  as  follows  in  the  Pedagogical  Seminary: 

"  It  is  a  school  for  boys  ranging  from  ten  to  fourteen 
years  of  age.  Its  sessions  have  been  evening  sessions 
in  the  winter  and  day  sessions  during  the  summer  va- 
cation. The  work  of  the  school  has  been  based  en- 
tirely upon  the  play  interests  of  the  boys  attending. 
The  work  has  varied  somewhat  according  to  the  season 
of  the  year,  but  the  description  will  concern  mainly 
the  work  of  the  summer  sessions. 

"  The  school  was  in  session  for  six  weeks  during 
July  and  August,  the  school  day  was  from  half  past 
eight  to  twelve,  and  forty  boys  were  regularly  in  at- 
tendance.   There  were  three  periods  in  the  school  day, 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

the  first  and  third  being  one  hour  and  a  half  in  length, 
and  the  second  one  hour.  A  free  choice  of  occupation 
was  granted  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  very  little 
occasion  for  change  in  the  divisions  occurring  thereafter. 

"  Perhaps  the  favorite  occupation,  on  the  whole,  was 
the  wood-work.  There  was  a  complete  sloyd  outfit 
and  a  trained  sloyd  teacher.  No  attempt  was  made 
to  hold  the  boys  to  a  formulated  course.  The  wood- 
work was  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  supply  shop  for  the 
apparatus  used  in  the  school.  The  boys  made  their 
own  butterfly  nets  and  fish  nets  for  the  nature  work. 
They  made  the  mounting  boards  used  in  mounting  the 
specimens,  the  cases  for  the  permanent  collections, 
developing  cages  for  the  caterpillars,  aquaria  for  the 
fishes,  box  traps  for  catching  squirrels,  etc.  If  a  boy 
was  interested  in  archery,  he  made  his  bow  and  arrows; 
if  in  cricket,  a  bat;  if  in  kite-flying,  a  kite;  if  in  making 
a  present  for  a  younger  brother  or  sister,  a  toy  table, 
perhaps.  Mothers,  too,  reaped  the  benefits  of  the 
shop,  for  a  boy  often  turned  from  his  toy-making  to 
the  making  of  a  sleeve-board,  ironing-board,  bread- 
board, shelf  or  something  else  for  the  house.  Some- 
times the  boys  united  in  making  some  giant  affair  of 
common  interest;  as,  for  example,  a  great  windmill 
which  supplied  power  for  turning  the  grindstone,  or  a 
dam  or  sluiceway  for  the  water-wheel,  or  a  catamaran 
for  the  swimming-pool.  One  summer  the  boys  built 
a  log  cabin. 

"  The  nature  work  was  hardly  less  popular  than  the 
toy-making.  Nearly  every  morning  there  might  be 
seen  a  company  of  ten  or  a  dozen  boys  starting  out 
with  the  leader  in  search  of  butterflies  or  fishes,  and 

83 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

for  the  incidental  study  of  birds,  or  frogs,  or  snakes, 
or  whatever  came  to  their  notice  while  hunting.  The 
older  boys  devoted  themselves  mainly  to  the  butter- 
flies, the  younger  to  the  fishes.  Nearly  every  species 
of  butterfly  to  be  found  in  Andover  during  the  season 
was  captured,  many  kinds  of  caterpillars  were  taken  and 
developed  into  chrysalids  in  the  cages,  and  nearly  all 
the  different  kinds  of  fishes  to  be  found  in  the  streams 
and  ponds  of  Andover  were  caught  and  studied.  The 
work  consisted  largely  of  outdoor  tramps,  but  there 
was  also  laboratory  work,  the  description  and  drawing 
of  the  worm,  chrysalis  and  butterfly.  Honey-bees  in 
an  observation  hive,  and  ants  in  nests  made  of  school 
slates  covered  with  glass  were  watched.  Some  of  the 
ants'  nests  were  successfully  kept  and  watched  for 
months,  one  boy  keeping  a  colony  all  winter.  The 
microscope  was  frequently  used  in  the  laboratory  work. 
Note-books  on  fishes  were  also  kept.  The  interest  of 
the  boys  was  deepest  in  the  gathering  and  general  ob- 
servation and  naming  of  specimens,  the  watching  and 
feeding  of  the  fishes,  and  less  in  the  minuter  observa- 
tion, drawing  and  naming  the  parts.  The  zeal  in  the 
hunting  of  specimens  was  often  intense. 

"Allied  to  the  nature  work  was  the  gardening.  A 
part  of  the  school-yard  was  plowed  and  a  definite  por- 
tion allotted  to  each  boy  who  chose  gardening.  Vege- 
tables of  various  kinds  were  planted.  Flower  plants 
were  also  a  part  of  the  care  and  possession  of  the  boys, 
and  were  taken  home  and  transplanted  by  the  boys  at 
the  close  of  the  school.  The  following  spring,  many 
of  these  boys  were  reported  to  me  as  having  started 
gardens  of  their  own  at  home. 

84 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

"  In  the  winter  session,  stamp  and  picture  collections 
were  substituted  for  the  nature  collections,  the  stamp- 
collecting  craze  spreading  like  wild-fire  among  the 
school  children  last  winter,  some  of  the  candy  and 
cigarette  counters  suffering  thereby,  to  my  certain 
knowledge. 

"  The  second  period  of  the  day,  one  hour  in  length, 
was  spent  in  outdoor  play.  In  one  section  of  the  play- 
ground might  have  been  seen  a  group  of  boys  engaged 
in  a  match  at  archery.  In  another  section,  the  older 
boys,  perhaps,  divided  into  opposing  sides  by  some 
natural  grouping  which  lent  zest  to  emulation,  were 
hard  at  a  spirited  game  of  ball.  Elsewhere  some  of  the 
younger  or  less  athletic  boys  were  playing  at  tenpins 
on  the  smooth  driveway,  or  at  bean  bags.  There  were 
also,  at  times,  football,  basket-ball,  ring-toss,  tag 
games,  boxing,  wrestling,  racing,  jumping,  vaulting, 
gymnastic  tricks,  kite-fiying,  boat-racing  at  Rabbitt's 
Pond,  swimming  races  at  Pomp's  or  in  the  Shawsheen. 
Three  times  a  week  there  was  a  division  in  swimming. 
The  swimming  lessons  often  served  as  a  good  opportu- 
nity for  collecting  specimens  or  plants  for  the  aquaria. 
On  rainy  days  there  were  indoor  games,  which  partook 
more  of  the  nature  of  social  or  parlor  games  and  which 
were  intellectual  rather  than  physical. 

"  The  musically  inclined  boys  were  always  eager  for 
an  orchestra.  This  took  the  form  of  a  kindersym- 
phonie.  The  talents  and  attainments  of  the  boys 
made  the  music  necessarily  crude,  but  it  was  much 
enjoyed  by  them.  The  violinists  were  children  who 
came  for  the  orchestra  alone,  the  play-school  boys 
being  confined  mainly  to  time-beating  instruments. 

85 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

There  was  a  class  also  in  piano-playing  which  met 
twice  a  week. 

"  The  printing  department  appealed  to  some  as  real 
play.  The  press  served  in  printing  the  names  of  the 
boys  in  the  several  departments,  the  baseball  teams, 
headings  for  school  exercise  papers,  cards,  some  bill- 
heads, and,  best  of  all,  a  four-paged  paper  issued  at 
the  close  of  the  last  school,  containing  compositions 
of  the  boys  on  the  work  of  the  various  departments, 
names  of  prize-takers,  cuts  of  drawings  made  in  the 
nature  work,  list  of  specimens  captured  and  the  like. 

"  Besides  the  drawing  in  the  nature  work,  there  was 
a  division  in  drawing  for  those  who  preferred  it  to  any 
other  occupation  they  might  have  during  that  period. 
The  work  took  the  form,  mainly,  of  large  free  drawings 
from  objects.  This  was  the  nearest  allied  to  regular 
school  work  of  any  department,  unless  we  except  the 
library  from  which  the  boys  eagerly  drew  books  of 
stories,  history  or  nature,  for  home  reading." 

The  essential  things  about  this  remarkable  lilliputian 
community  seem  to  have  been  the  intelligent  contact 
with  nature,  the  devising  and  making  by  the  boys  of 
their  instruments  of  play  and  work  —  but  nothing  like 
formal  sloyd  or  classroom  drill  —  and  the  natural  and 
friendly  social  relations  with  the  boys  of  the  adult 
workers,  some  of  whom  were  paid  and  some  volunteer. 

Mr.  Johnson's  summer  work  was  planned  as  a  part 
of  a  continuous  play-school  curriculum  to  run  from 
,  boyhood  to  manhood,  and,  especially  in  winter  even- 
ings, to  reach  the  working  boys  as  well  as  to  the  school 
boys  of  the  village. 

In  the  small  town  of  Norway,  Maine,  two  gentlemen 

86 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

went  to  work  some  time  ago,  independently  of  each 
other,  to  lead  the  boys  of  their  acquaintance  into  accu- 
rate study  and  observation  of  nature  in  the  hill  region 
about  them.  They  found  that  the  boys  responded  to 
the  most  painstaking  work  and  that  the  results  in 
character  were  as  encouraging  as  in  natural  history. 
Now,  as  some  one  has  said,  "  flowers  are  not  ethics," 
but  fellowship  is,  and  comradeship  on  the  fair  levels 
of  nature  study  is  character-forming. 

The  Rev.  Herbert  A.  Jump  in  studying  the  country 
problem  dismisses  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  as 
being  unable  to  contribute  very  much  help,  and  feels 
that  few  individual  country  churches  have  pastors, 
members  or  equipment  adequate  to  the  need.  "  Why, 
then,"  he  asks,  '*  should  not  the  school  building  be 
appropriated  as  a  boys'  rendezvous? "  About  the 
school  in  each  village  let  a  system  of  self-governing 
clubs  be  organized  with  athletic,  chivalric,  patriotic, 
parliamentary  or  social  interests,  adapted  to  various 
ages.  Each  club  will  be  under  the  supervision  of  an 
adult.  These  club  leaders  will  naturally  meet  from 
time  to  time  for  conference  with  a  general  superintend- 
ent, who  will  be  an  interested  citizen,  a  teacher,  or,  at 
least  desirably,  a  minister.  Thus  the  school  would  be- 
come a  center  for  every  wholesome  boyish  occupation 
or  diversion,  —  a  play  center  out  of  hours  as  well  as  a 
study  center  in  hours,  and  all  the  while  a  growth  center. 
Out  in  Rockford  County,  Illinois,  Su- 
ment  ClTs""  Perintendent  O.  J.  Kern's  "  Boys'  Ex- 
periment Clubs  "  (and  "  Girls'  Home 
Culture  Clubs  "),  with  their  school  gardens  and  corn- 
planting  contests  and  annual  excursions  to  the  State 

87 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

Agricultural  College,  have  done  much  to  exalt  the 
dignity  of  farm  work  as  a  calling  and  to  enrich  the  lives 
of  the  boys  intellectually  and  socially.  Other  counties 
and  states  are  imitating  this  example.  Mr.  Kern's 
book  is  mentioned  in  the  Bibliography. 

Principal  William  A.  Baldwin  of  the 
Training  Hyauuis  Normal  School  has  worked  out 

in  another  little  book,  "  Industrial  So- 
cial Education,"  his  experiments  in  introducing  indus- 
trial and  even  commercial  features  into  school  work,  as 
they  have  been  called  out  by  the  development  and  the 
needs  of  the  children.  This  work  becomes  a  return  to 
many  of  the  features  of  the  industrial  training  given  in 
the  old  pioneer  home,  with  a  more  enlightened  educa- 
tional guidance.  Here,  too,  we  get  some  light  on  the 
way  the  school  may  cooperate  with  the  home,  fill 
wholesomely  the  leisure  of  the  boy  and  help  him  plan 
his  future. 

By  beginning  in  a  small  'and  natural  way,  with  a 
leader  who  has  mastered  the  idea  and  who  is  a  person  of 
efficiency,  and  a  few  volunteer  workers  who  know  some- 
thing about  tools,  insects,  plants  or  sports,  and  a  group 
of  boys,  and  a  very  little  apparatus,  this  sort  of  work 
inside  or  outside  a  school  ought  in  any  place  to  grow  to 
something  very  serviceable  and  fruitful,  without  any  of 
the  barrenness,  extravagance  and  public  indifference 
which  usually  seem  to  be  connected  with  an  institution. 
The  vacation  school  movement  and 
Vacation  ^j^^  playground  movement  in  our  large 

Schools  and  .^.  ^    ^^     .  .     ,    ,        ,  ^      ^ 

PlavCTound8        cities  are  wise-minded  endeavors  to  re- 
store to  city  children  somewhat  of  their 
country  birthright,  together  with  some  engagement  of 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

their  long,  dangerous,  summer  leisure  in  happy  handi- 
craft and  supervised  play.  They  deserve  much  more 
space  than  can  be  given  them  here,  and  the  interested 
reader  must  again  be  referred  to  the  lists  at  the  end 
of  this  book  of  manuals  of  these  subjects. 

The  summer  playgrounds,  beginning  as  private  phil- 
anthropies, are  becoming  municipal  institutions,  ex- 
tensions of  the  public  school  system,  just  as  fast  as 
they  are  recognized  as  creators  of  health  and  morality. 
Summer  philanthropies  are  supplementing  the  vacation 
schools  and  summer  playgrounds  by  giving  each  year 
a  larger  number  of  city  children  the  air  and  tonic,  the 
freedom  and  nurture  and  healing  of  the  country. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  some  of  the  agencies,  found  in 
both  city  and  country,  in  which  the  religious  element 
is  central.  I  shall  give  an  entire  chapter  to  a  con- 
structive study  of  aims  and  methods.  What  I  shall 
do  here  is  simply  to  describe  some  of  the  methods  now 
in  existence. 

A  popular  way  of  helping  boys  and 
p!|^!°^  '  girls  in  the  church  is  in  the  Junior  En- 

Endeavor  deavor  Society  and  kindred  organiza- 

tions. The  Endeavor  movement  soon 
found  a  practical  difficulty  in  the  fact  that  its  young 
people,  some  of  whom  were  quite  young  when  they 
entered,  remained  in  the  society  year  after  year,  and 
that  just  as  soon  as  their  average  age  began  to  increase 
it  became  almost  impossible  to  gather  in  younger 
members.  To  meet  this  need,  in  1884,  junior  societies, 
and  a  few  years  later  intermediate  societies,  began  to 
be  established,  formed  in  complete  imitation  of  the 
societies  of  older  young  people.     Thus  naturally,  and 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

yet  we  may  say  somewhat  thoughtlessly,  an  institution 
was  introduced  into  our  churches  with  the  same  name 
and  methods  as  one  already  existing,  but  with  no  query 
as  to  whether  means  that  were  adaptable  to  persons 
from  sixteen  to  sixty  would  be  perfectly  natural  to  boys 
and  girls  from  ten  to  sixteen. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  Christian  Endeavor 
movement  is  passing  through  a  period  of  reaction  and 
readjustment.  As  to  the  needs  of  the  movement  as  it 
applies  to  adults  it  would  be  aside  from  the  main  ques- 
tion to  enter  into  discussion  here.  But  the  general  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  Endeavor  scheme  as  it  applies  to 
juniors,  and  the  increasing  growth  of  societies  that  are 
substitutes  or  are  supplementary  to  it,  especially  for 
boys,  makes  the  question  pertinent,  whether  the  En- 
deavor idea  is  applicable  to  boys. 

An  interesting  test  as  to  whether  these  junior  societies 
do  actually  suit  young  children  may  be  taken  from  the 
results  of  Dr.  Sheldon's  study,  already  referred  to,  of 
the  societies,  clubs  and  gangs  which  children  sponta- 
neously organize.  If  interest  is  the  key  to  influence, 
what  boys  like  to  do  is  a  criterion  as  to  the  sort  of  things 
which  it  is  wise  to  do  with  them.  Three  things  were 
definitely  discovered  regarding  these  societies :  Physical 
activity,  in  the  forms  of  play,  construction,  wandering 
and  athletics,  was  the  supreme  interest,  85i  per  cent  of 
the  societies  having  this  as  its  characteristic;  leagues  for 
religious  expression  were  almost  entirely  absent;  boys 
and  girls  almost  never  organized  together. 

We  see  at  once  that  these  junior  societies  ignore 
these  three  facts,  for  they  are  mostly  organizations  for 
sitting  still,  they  aim  directly  at  verbal  religious  ex- 

00 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

pression,  and  they  include  boys  and  girls  together.  If 
we  combine  with  verbal  religious  expression  the  pres- 
ence of  the  other  sex,  we  make  a  demand  which  is  a 
sore  tax  upon  simplicity  and  sincerity. 

Religion  in  a  child  may  be  real,  but  it  is  only  a 
promise.  It  is  not  yet  time  to  talk  about  it  or  display 
it  in  any  vocal  way.  "  Oh,  that  I  might  do  something 
for  God!  "  not,  "  Oh,  to  say  something!  "  is  his  cry. 

With  boys  especially  this  is  a  time  of  reserves;  the 
distance  between  apprehension  and  expression  is  never 
so  long  as  now;  it  is  more  important  to  brood  than  to 
utter,  and  public  prayer  or  testimony  or  opinion  is,  in 
this  imitative  age,  sure  to  be  parrot-like  and  unnatural. 
It  is  a  period  when  a  boy  tries  to  be  honest  with  him- 
self. The  insistence  upon  an  indenturing  for  life  by 
the  ironclad  pledge  and  the  easy  tolerance  of  its  fre- 
quent infraction  does  this  quality  of  his  nature  a 
serious  wrong.  "  Nothing  tends  more  to  give  to  chil- 
dren a  sense  of  unreality,"  says  Sir  Joshua  Fitch, 
*'  than  the  habit  of  exacting  from  them  professions  of 
faith  which  do  not  honestly  correspond  to  their  present 
stage  of  religious  experience."  When  a  boy  wants  to 
talk  in  meeting  at  this  age  there  is  generally  something 
the  matter  with  him.  I  have  often  observed  that  it 
is  not  the  best  or  most  thoughtful  boys  w^ho  do  the 
praying  and  talking  in  these  meetings.  It  is  rather 
those  of  quick  but  shallow  natures  who  ought  to  be 
repressed  rather  than  encouraged,  and  who  are  learning 
a  light  and  easy  manner  of  religious  expression  which 
may  later  easily  become  weakly  fluent  and  more  or  less 
consciously  hypocritical.  On  the  other  hand,  an  im- 
mature boy  of  a  deeper  nature  will  often  be  led  into 

91 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

giving  expressions  of  himself,  honest  at  the  time,  which 
he  later  recognizes  as  crude  and  overwrought,  the  re- 
sult of  which  may  be  to  silence  his  lips  forever  or  to 
persuade  him  that  he  has  lost,  in  losing  its  temporary- 
fervor,  the  reality  of  his  religious  life.  This  may  help 
explain  why  it  is  that  the  Endeavor  movement,  origi- 
nated largely  to  feed  and  fructify  the  church  prayer- 
meeting,  has  been  such  a  disappointment  in  this  regard. 
He  must  be  blind  who  does  not  see  that  in  New  England 
at  least  the  mid-week  meeting  is  ceasing  to  be  a  place 
for  the  offering  of  prayer  and  the  giving  of  personal 
religious  experience. 

Another  fact  which  I  have  already  mentioned  is  that 
life  to  adolescents  comes  on  in  waves,  between  which 
are  rhythms  or  lulls.  Those  who  have  much  to  do  with 
boys  intimately,  and  many  men  from  their  memory 
of  childhood,  have  testified  that  conversion  is  quite  apt 
to  come  in  three  successive  waves  of  increasing  power 
about  two  or  three  years  apart.  Between  these  waves 
there  is  a  period  of  depression,  caused  perhaps  by 
pubertal  or  other  physical  changes.  This  is  '*  the  pin- 
feather  age,"  the  blunder  period.  In  these  lulls  the 
child  is  apt  to  think  he  has  lost  his  faith  or  sinned  away 
his  day  of  grace.  The  junior  methods  are  very  apt  to 
intensify  the  morbidness  and  introspection  of  these 
curious  intermediary  periods. 

It  seems  to  me  that  Dr.  Coe  has  in  his  study  of  tem- 
peraments cut  the  ground  away  forever  from  under 
that  hoary  heresy  that  "  the  prayer-meeting  is  the 
thermometer  of  the  church."  The  exact  truth  is  that 
it  is  the  thermometer  of  the  people  of  sanguine  or  mel- 
ancholic temperaments  in  the  church.    Sainthood,  as 

92 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

he  points  out,  has  in  all  ages,  especially  the  medieval, 
been  granted  to  those  of  devout  feeling  and  devout 
expression,  and  it  has  only  been  seldom  that  men  have 
"  perceived  that  merely  filling  one's  station  in  life  in 
the  fear  of  God  is  a  spiritual  exercise."  The  saints  of 
the  Endeavor  movement  —  and  they  are  real  saints  — 
are  men  of  the  devotional  type.  They  publish  or  push 
the  writings  of  Meyer,  Murray,  Morgan,  Moody  and 
McGregor,  who  are  also  saints  and  of  the  same  type; 
they  encourage  a  comradeship  of  the  Quiet  Hour,  which 
appeals  to  saints  of  the  same  type;  and  they  believe 
that  the  prayer-meeting  is  *  the  thermometer  of  the 
Christian.  But  there  are  other  good  people  who  think 
the  writings  of  those  saints  who  begin  with  M  tire- 
some, who  if  they  had  a  quiet  hour  would  say  their 
prayers  all  through  and  then  have  fifty-seven  minutes 
in  which  to  start  up  and  do  something,  and  to  whom . 
either  a  prayer-meeting  is  irksome  or  personal  partici- 
pation in  it  painful  and  unprofitable.  They  were  made 
that  way.    They  are  of  the  choleric  type. 

It  is  no  reflection  upon  the  manliness  of  the  former 
class  when  Professor  Coe  points  out  that  women  are 
overwhelmingly  of  sanguine  or  melancholic  tempera- 
ment, and  that  it  is  something  more  than  mere  coin- 
cidence that  women  should  be  in  the  majority  in  the 
churches  where  "  the  forms  of  religious  life  natural  to 
the  choleric  temperament  are  habitually  discounted  in 
favor  of  those  natural  to  the  sanguine  and  melancholic 
temperaments.'* 

.  Whether  this  tendency  has  begun  to  show  its  results 
in  the  Endeavor  movement  there  is  time,  but  perhaps 
there  are  not  sufficient  data,  to  make  evident.    It  is  a 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

fact  that  in  the  states  and  the  denomination  in  those 
states  in  which  the  movement  started  the  societies  have 
lately  fallen  off  very  largely  in  membership. 

It  is  also  everywhere  noticeable  that  the  movement 
is  becoming  predominantly  feminine,  and  that  it  is 
increasingly  difficult  to  hold  young  men  of  the  active 
type  in  its  membership.  And  the  reason  we  lose 
men  is  that  the  movement  is  not  well  adapted  to  the 
boys. 

With  all  this  that  has  just  been  said  about  the 
dangers  of  verbal  religious  expression,  it  is  also  fair  to 
say  that  there  are  many  of  my  friends,  especially  in 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  who  believe  that  for  boys  when  they 
are  together  by  themselves,  with  a  judicious  leader,  at 
camp  or  in  some  other  natural  relationship,  to  inter- 
change their  religious  sentiments  or  even  to  pray  is  a 
perfectly  natural  and  wholesome  exercise.  But  even 
these  men  do  not  advocate  that  such  performances  be 
encouraged  in  the  presence  of  the  other  sex. 

There  are  in  the  Endeavor  forces  and  organization 
possibilities  that  point  to  successful  social  and  re- 
ligious work,  under  wiser  methods.  These  societies 
usually  command  the  services  of  some  of  the  best  and 
wisest  leaders  in  the  churches.  They  meet,  as  the  boys 
outgrow  their  boys'  clubs,  that  temptation,  to  which 
so  many  workers  with  boys  yield,  of  holding  boys  by 
selfish  attractions  rather  than  by  service  for  others,  by 
a  demand  for  unselfishness. 

Such  religious  bands  as  these  are  splendid  untram- 
melled opportunities  for  children  to  serve  God  and 
perform  religious  duty.  They  give  instant  definiteness 
to  consecration.    The  word  "  Endeavor  "  was  an  in- 

94 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

spiration.  It  expresses  the  ideals  of  youth.  To  try, 
to  persist,  to  attain,  —  these  are  the  things  a  boy  wants 
to  do.  The  junior  idea  has  in  it  the  three  things  which 
are  fundamental  to  work  that  shall  help  boys:  some- 
thing to  love,  something  to  know  and  something  to  do. 
There  is  the  hearty  devotion  to  the  personal  Christ,  the 
disposition  to  seek  wiser  ways  of  instructing  the  chil- 
dren and  the  splendidly  planned  activities  of  the  vari- 
ous committees.  Notice  how  the  boy  who  wriggles  like 
an  eel  during  the  prayer-meeting  and  pops  up  to  give 
a  "  testimony  "  and  then  pops  down  to  stick  a  pin  into 
his  neighbor  —  with  equal  enthusiasm  —  shines  in  do- 
ing the  chores  of  a  social  or  in  works  of  mercy  for  which 
one  would  suppose  he  would  have  no  heart.  He  wants 
to  be  doing  something.  If  I  were  going  to  have  a 
caste  called  "  the  active  membership  "  at  all,  I  would 
have  it  consist  of  those  who  are  active  with  their  hands 
rather  than  with  their  tongues,  an  inner  guild  of  those 
who  will  agree  to  take  definite  tasks  and  do  them. 
The  wiser  Endeavor  leaders  are  gathering  up  to  them- 
selves the  activities  of  the  various  straggling  minor 
societies  of  the  church  and  some  of  them  are  adding 
drills,  athletics,  camps,  etc.  The  Endeavor  hosts, 
"  the  army  of  the  daybreak,"  have  the  enthusiasm,  the 
confidence,  the  consecration  and  the  opportunity  to 
take  hold  of  the  boys,  and  do  for  them  what  no  one 
else  can  do.  Let  the  directors  of  the  movement  gradu- 
ally retire  methods  that  are  merely  imitative  of  adults 
and  that  insist  on  iron  conformities,  and  affiliate  with 
themselves  some  of  the  other  forms  of  work  named  in 
this  chapter,  and  then  the  movement  will  furnish  the 
leadership  and  the  goal  to  a  multitude  of  boys  who 

96 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

need  only  the  right  touch  to  ripen  them  into  Christian 
manhood. 

I  give  no  special  space  here  to  the  Ep worth  League 
and  the  other  societies,  imitative  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, since  what  I  have  said  of  one  applies  largely 
to  all. 

Now  to  the  Brotherhoods  of  St.  An- 

Brotherhoods  ^^®^'  ^^^  ^^  Andrew  and  Philip.  The 
strength  of  these  brotherhoods  is  loy- 
alty. The  gregarious  spirit  of  boys  has  in  it  a  great 
capacity  for  affection,  as  is  seen  in  the  strength  of 
college  secret  societies  among  youths  not  out  of  the 
adolescent  period.  That  spirit  is  beautiful  and  en- 
nobling. The  church  is  an  institution  as  worthy  of 
passionate  devotions  and  of  "  team-work "  as  the 
college.  The  brotherhoods  seize  this  romantic  affection 
and  fasten  it. 

Mr.  Hubert  Carleton,  the  secretary  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew,  believes  that  the  very  highest  ap- 
peal ought  to  be  made  to  a  boy.  He  has  recently  said: 
"  Can  the  boy  be  won?  Yes,  The  boy  can  be  won, 
but  not  in  the  usual  way  in  which  the  church  is  working 
at  the  problem  to-day.  The  boy  can  be  won  by  em- 
ploying his  interests,  his  energies,  his  possibilities  and 
his  inspiration  in  behalf  of  God  and  God's  cause.  The 
way  to  win  the  boy  for  the  church  is  to  teach  him  to 
work  for  the  church.  And  by  church  work  I  do  not 
mean  what  is  commonly  meant  by  church  work.  I  do 
not  mean  to  give  the  boy  some  petty  tinkering  around 
the  church  and  allow  him  to  call  that  church  work  or 
work  for  God.  If  you  send  your  boy  running  messages 
for  the  rectoP;  delivering  notices,  collecting  books  and 

06 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

the  like,  and  teach  him  to  do  nothing  else,  you  have 
dwarfed  the  boy  at  the  very  beginning;  and  if  you 
dwarf  the  boy  you  will  never  develop  the  man.  The 
church  is  in  this  world  to  make  people  Christians  who 
are  not  to-day  Christians,  and  the  boy  must  be  taught 
by  the  church  to  take  up  his  share  in  this  work.  In 
plain  English,  then,  let  me  say  that  no  boy  can  be  a 
real  Christian  unless  he  is  trying  to  make  it  easier  for 
other  boys  who  are  not  Christians  to  become  Christians, 
or  those  who  are  Christians  already  to  become  better 
Christians. 

"  The  church  is  teaching  the  boy  to-day  a  maimed 
religion,  an  imperfect  religion,  a  religion  with  the  heart 
left  out  of  it.  She  is  teaching  him  that  it  is  his  duty 
to  live  straight,  but  she  is  not  teaching  him  that  it  is 
his  equally  necessary  duty  to  help  the  other  fellow  to 
live  straight.  She  is  not  teaching  him  that  the  first 
duty  of  every  church  boy  is  to  make  it  easier  for  those 
who  are  not  church  boys  to  become  church  boys,  and  he 
is  not  therefore  doing  it.  You  cannot  blame  him  be- 
cause he  does  not  know,  no  one  has  ever  told  him,  and 
the  church  is  losing  not  only  his  own  allegiance,  because 
no  boy  will  stay  where  his  energies  are  not  employed, 
but  she  is  also  losing  all  the  boys  who  should  be  being 
won  by  him.  John  Wanamaker  once  said  that  when 
you  convert  a  man  you  convert  one  person,  but  when 
you  convert  a  boy  you  convert  a  multiplication  table, 
and  Wanamaker's  arithmetic  is  usually  correct. 

"  The  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  is  the  only  society 
which  is  to-day  successful  in  this  kind  of  work  among 
boys.  It  puts  aside  altogether  the  amusement  fea- 
tures, and  everything  which  is  supposed  to  attract  boys. 

97 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

It  believes  that  the  boy  should  be  used,  not  amused, 
and  it  accordingly  sets  the  boy  at  the  hardest,  highest 
and  holiest  work  in  all  the  world,  that  of  living  for 
other  boys.  All  amusement  features  are  debarred. 
The  boy  joins  the  junior  department  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew,  not  for  what  he  can  get,  but  for 
what  he  can  give,  and  there  are,  in  this  society  to-day, 
thousands  of  the  older  boys  of  our  church,  boys  of  edu- 
cation, boys  of  influence,  boys  of  leadership  and  boys  of 
position  who  are  being  taught  how  impossible  it  is  for 
them  to  be  real  Christians  unless  they  are  getting  other 
boys  to  be  Christians  and  are  being  shown  how  to 
put  this  into  practical  operation  by  being  directed 
towards  their  friends  and  companions  whom  they 
can  influence.'* 

The  evangelizing  of  boys  by  other  boys  is  the  idea 
of  the  order,  and  the  word  "  Brotherhood  "  expresses 
what  every  boy  covets.  I  value  the  Brotherhoods 
very  highly  as  opportunities  afforded  boys  to  develop 
their  early  Christian  characters  in  each  other's  fellow- 
ship under  mature,  manly  leaders.  Almost  every 
men's  league  in  a  church  needs  a  boy  branch  to  prevent 
it  from  becoming  selfish.  This  adopting  of  the  boys 
by  the  men  in  a  church,  in  a  godfatherly  sense,  is  a 
magnificent  mission. 

The  most  interesting  church  work 
The  aptarns  ^j^^^  j  know  of  anywhere  among  boys 
is  that  exhibited  in  an  organization 
known  as  the  Captains  of  Ten,  originated  and  con- 
ducted by  Miss  A.  B.  Mackintire,  of  Dr.  Alexander 
McKenzie's  church  in  Cambridge.  We  have  here  a 
successful  boys'  club  conducted  by  a  woman.     Here 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

is  a  woman  who,  without  fad  or  publicity,  has  worked 
out  for  fifteen  years  a  plan  which  fits  the  best  theories. 
The  basis  is  hand- work.  The  Captains  of  Ten  are  boys 
from  eight  to  fourteen,  who  are  captains  of  their  ten 
fingers.  Cardboard  work,  weavmg,  whittling,  sloyd, 
carving  and  other  activities  are  followed  by  graded 
groups.  Miss  Mackintire  is  a  trained  sloyd  worker  and 
has  a  remarkable  ingenuity  and  patience  in  originating 
elaborate  and  dignified  annual  entertainments  by  the 
boys,  each  of  which  is  a  surprise  and  wonder.  The 
interest  is  missions,  which  are  taught  graphically, 
chiefly  at  the  monthly  business  meeting.  The  boys 
learn  to  like  to  make  generous  gifts  from  the  proceeds 
of  their  festivals  and  sales  of  handiwork  for  the  benevo- 
lent causes  which  they  know  about  and  care  for.  At 
the  entertainments  the  dramatic  instinct  is  fully 
recognized  and  the  constructive  faculties  are  utilized 
in  designing  costumes  and  scenery.  Loyalty  and  self- 
government  are  taught  incidentally.  The  older  boys 
become  volunteer  workers  to  help  beginners,  and  are 
graduated  into  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  King 
Arthur.  A  personality  that  has  been  devoted  to  boys 
with  such  earnestness  and  fidelity  becomes  a  masterful 
influence  on  character.  To  walk  down  the  room,  on 
the  walls  of  which  are  placed  the  photographs  of  the 
grouped  Captains  for  successive  years, —  there  have 
been  over  two  hundred  boys  in  all, —  and  see  the  growth 
in  maturity  thus  visibly  portrayed  is  an  impressive 
vision.  These  boys  seem  to  ripen  into  Christian  life 
naturally,  although  they  represent  two  quite  different 
levels  of  society,  and  usually  come  into  the  church. 
There  is  no  Junior  Endeavor  Society    or  other  re- 

09 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

ligious  society  for  children  here.  This  illustration 
suggests  the  power  of  broader  methods  wielded  by- 
sense  and  consecration  to  assist  in  the  actual  religious 
development  of  boyhood. 

Another  plan   which   arouses   much 
^  ^  °?.  "  enthusiasm  among  boys  from  ten  to 

fourteen  is  that  of  the  Woodcraft  In- 
dians, devised  by  Ernest  Thompson  Seton,  the  natu- 
ralist. It  is  an  orderly  endeavor  to  systematize  and 
direct  that  fever  for  "  playing  Indian  "  which  has 
always  been  the  delight  of  boys  who  have  any  access 
to  the  forest.  It  is  the  nobler  side  of  the  aboriginal 
nature  that  is  imitated,  the  degrading  vices  being  dis- 
couraged by  such  laws  as  "  no  smoking  "  and  "  no 
fire-water  in  camp/'  and  by  offering  recognitions, 
called  "  coups,"  for  clear  sight,  powers  of  observation, 
agility  and  marksmanship  and  deeds  of  heroism.  The 
games  are  ingeniously  arranged  to  afford  a  reasonable 
amount  of  hardship  and  to  encourage  the  higher  sports- 
manship, the  contestants  striving  against  time  and 
space  rather  than  against  their  fellows,  the  rewards  be- 
ing so  varied  as  to  suit  every  boyish  talent  and  being 
justly  proportioned  to  real  endeavor.  The  plan  is 
elastic  and  may  be  turned  to  the  loftiest  uses. 

If  the  Woodcraft  Indians  is  a  method 
f  K'  °^Arth        ^^^^  corresponds  to  the  savage  period 

of  boyhood,  then  the  Order  of  the 
Knights  of  King  Arthur,  devised  by  the  author,  may 
well  apply  to  the  chivalric  period  that  follows.  It  is 
based  upon  the  romantic,  hero-loving,  play,  construc- 
tive and  imaginative  instincts  which  ripen  at  about 
fourteen,  but  it  has  been  found  possible  and  desirable 

100 


SOCIAL        ORGAN.  1  Z  A  T'L*  icV  «!:* 

to  prepare  the  boys  for  the  special  features  of  the  order 
by  preliminary  organization,  as  Captains  of  Ten  or 
Woodcraft  Indians,  at  about  twelve.  Its  purpose  is  to 
bring  back  to  the  world,  and  especially  to  its  youth, 
the  spirit  of  chivalry,  courtesy,  deference  to  woman- 
hood, recognition  of  the  noblesse  obligej  and  Christian 
daring,  and  ideal  of  that  kingdom  of  knightliness 
which  King  Arthur  promised  he  would  bring  back 
when  he  returns  from  Avalon.  In  this  order  he  ap- 
pears again.  Unlike  many  means  of  helping  boys, 
this  one  does  not  claim  to  be  complete  in  itself.  It  is 
only  a  skeleton  organization,  attracting  instant  pleas- 
ure, affording  wholesome  recreation  and  instruction 
and  serving  as  the  framework  upon  which  to  build  in- 
strumentalities that  may  particularly  fit  local  needs. 
It  is  formed  upon  the  model  of  a  college  Greek-letter 
fraternity  rather  than  upon  that  of  a  secret  lodge,  al- 
though it  is  believed  that  the  satisfaction  of  the  love 
of  ritual,  mystery  and  parade  in  this  way  in  adolescence 
will  often  prevent  the  lodge-room  craze  which  might 
later  become  extravagant  and  destructive  of  domestic 
felicity.  It  is  not  secret.  The  boys  when  they  gather 
for  a  "  conclave  "  march  into  their  hall  and  seat  them- 
selves in  a  circle  in  imitation  of  the  round  table,  with 
a  King  at  the  head,  the  Merlin  or  adult  leader  at  his 
side,  and  the  various  functionaries  of  their  "  Castle  " 
in  their  places.  In  order  to  avoid  jealousy  there  is 
constant  rotation  in  office.  Each  boy  bears  the  name 
of  a  hero,  either  an  ancient  knight  or  a  modern  man 
of  noble  life,  and  is  known  by  that  name  in  the  castle 
and  is  supposed  to  be  familiar  with  the  history  of  the 
one  for  whom  he  is  named  and  to  emulate  his  virtues. 

101 


THE         B  a  Y         P  R  O  B  L  EM 

The  ritual  is  short  but  impressive.  Its  preparation  and 
the  arranging  of  the  initiations,  which  embody  the 
grades  of  page,  esquire  and  knight,  and  which  teach 
lessons  important  to  boyhood,  give  room  for  the  con- 
structive instinct  in  the  making  of  regaHa,  banners, 
swords  and  spears,  throne,  etc.  These  initiations  exer- 
cise the  play-instinct  without  giving  opportunity  for 
physical  violence.  Hero-worship  is  developed  by  a 
roll  of  noble  deeds,  a  castle  album  of  portraits  of  heroes, 
the  reading  together  of  heroic  books  and  the  offering 
of  ranks  in  "  the  peerage  "  and  the  sacred  honor  of 
"  the  Siege  Perilous  "  for  athletic,  scholarly  or  self- 
sacrificing  attainments.  These  honors  are  arranged  to 
harmonize  with  those  offered  in  the  Woodcraft  Indians, 
so  that  the  two  organizations  dovetail.  Those  which 
involve  mere  physical  effort  are  rewards  for  whole- 
some emulation,  while  the  recognition  of  actual  heroism 
is  conferred,  not  to  the  boaster,  but  by  the  spontaneous 
tribute  of  his  fellows.  The  ranks  of  esquire  and  knight 
in  the  castle  are  planned  to  be  occupied  by  those  who 
shall  voluntarily,  after  a  term  of  probation,  accept  a 
simple,  self-originated  covenant  of  purity,  temperance 
and  reverence  or  enter  the  manliness  of  actual  Christian 
confession  by  church  membership.  For  definite  ac- 
tivity and  in  satisfying  the  instinct  for  roaming  and 
adventure,  "  quests  "  are  suggested  in  the  way  of  walks 
to  historic  sites  and  cooperative  deeds  of  kindness. 
The  local  Merlin  is  urged  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
boys  in  his  own  way,  as  upon  the  manner  in  which  he 
does  this  the  life  of  the  castle  will  ultimately  depend. 
Almost  everything  can  be  clad  in  imagination  with  the 
knightly  character.     The  summer  camp  will  become 

102 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

the  literal  castle  and  its  environs  the  country  of  the 
paynims,  who  are  to  be  protected,  not  ravaged.  The 
ball  team  will  be  the  castle  armed  band  and  its  vic- 
tories the  occasion  of  mild  "  wassail."  The  boys  will 
often  elaborate  further  rituals  of  their  own,  and  patri- 
otism and  missions  can  be  taught  under  this  disguise. 
Often  the  members  show  a  touching  tenderness  toward 
a  group  of  younger  boys  who  are  under  instruction 
preparatory  to  being  admitted,  and  refer  in  later  days 
to  their  memories  of  the  order  with  something  of  the 
same  feeling  that  the  graduate  does  to  his  college  days. 
There  is  in  some  such  approach  to  the  best  in  the  boy 
the  possibility  of  great  good.  In  a  successful  castle, 
loyalty,  chivalry  and  service  —  the  three  watchwords 
of  the  order  —  are  actually  developed  in  very  pleasing 
ways.  The  plan  is  thoroughly  Christian  and  is  more 
often  found  in  churches  than  elsewhere,  although 
adapted  to  a  union  group  in  the  community.  Its 
elasticity  makes  it  popular  to  use  with  other  formal 
agencies.  Even  reduced  to  its  simplicity  —  the  adop- 
tion of  knightly  names  and  ideals  —  it  proves  a  power- 
ful force  for  uplifting  a  group  of  boys  by  a  way  that 
quietly  and  constantly  appeals  to  their  idealism  and 
group  spirit  without  trespassing  upon  their  reserve  or 
making  them  unduly  introspective.  It  seems  to  have 
the  unique  quality  that  while  in  it  religion  is  so  un- 
obtrusive that  it  does  not  offend,  it  is  so  integral  a 
part  that  it  cannot  be  ignored.  In  Mr.  Carleton's 
description  of  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  we  see 
as  the  ideal  the  boy  membership  of  a  church  segregated 
into  a  brotherhood  to  win  other  boys  who  are  outsiders. 
In  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur  the  Christian  boy  is,  as 

.  ^  103 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

in  the  rest  of  life,  a  part  of  a  community  of  boys,  in 
which  there  is  no  caste  but  character. 

The  author  may  speak  freely  of  certain  minor  ad- 
vantages of  the  plan,  which  are  noted  by  President 
G.  Stanley  Hall,  who  regards  it  as  "  the  best  form  of 
group-honor  "  for  boys,  because  these  advantages  came 
about  incidentally  and  not  from  his  own  pknning. 
"  The  esoteric  is  a  real  basis  for  comradeship."  "  It 
permits  the  abandon  of  freedom  in  its  yeasty  stage, 
innocent  rioting."  '<  The  grades  of  initiation  become 
symbolic  of  old  ethnic  initiations  of  pubescents  or  of 
putting  off  the  old  isolated  self  by  regeneration  into  a 
larger  social  existence."  "  In  cultivating  friendship 
intensely  for  a  small  circle,  as  gentlemen  practising 
noblesse  oblige,  many  youth  would  owe  more  to  this 
circle  than  to  curriculum  and  faculty." 

The  author  has  found  in  his  own  experience  that 
under  all,  the  idea  of  the  Quest,  as  a  partnership  in  the 
search  for  character,  when  conducted  frankly  and  in 
mutual  help  by  both  adult  leader  and  the  boys,  be- 
comes the  permanent  and  valuable  element  of  the 
fraternity.  In  no  other  way  has  he  found  that  he 
could  so  naturally  live  the  religious  life  with  boys. 

J  The  Boys'  Brigade  has  had  consider- 

Brieade  ^^^®  vogue  on  both  sides  of  the  water.  It 

usually,  when  first  tried,  brings  together 
a  large  company  of  boys,  and  it  offers  the  advantages 
of  exercises  that  not  only  inculcate  erectness  and  vigor 
but  that  assist  humility,  obedience  and  attention.  The 
summer  military  camp  is  often  a  valuable  feature  and 
there  is  during  the  winter  some  opportunity  for  Bible 
drill,  though  there  are  difficulties  in  yoking  it  to  the 

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other  more  strenuous  exercises.  Where  it  is  possible 
to  get  a  drill-master  who  is  something  more,  and  who 
will  learn  to  see  his  boys  as  individuals,  it  has  done 
good.  The  plan  is  not  very  elastic  and,  so  rapidly  do 
boys  outgrow  any  one  form  of  organization,  that  many 
feel  that  the  large  expense  of  it  is  not  always  justified. 
There  is  an  improvement  of  this  last- 
Lif^  bJ^  de  named  plan  called  the  Boys'  Life  Bri- 
gade, in  which  the  drills  are  on  a  peace 
basis  and  are  in  the  line  of  learning  to  save  rather  than 
to  destroy  life.  Ambulance  drill,  first  aid,  rescuing 
from  fire  and  drowning,  are  attractive  features. 

The  Sunday-school  is  the  greatest 
Sch  0^^  *^'  educational  institute  of  the  church.  De- 
spite the  abundant  criticisms  with  which 
it  has  been  favored,  the  character  of  its  leaders  and 
membership,  the  authorization  and  labor  which  it  has 
received,  the  large  reach  it  has  upon  the  childhood  of 
every  community  and  its  genuine  value  and  unique 
opportunity  will  cause  it  to  continue  to  be  the  place 
where  the  church  does  the  most  of  its  teaching  and 
puts  forth  its  best  work. 

The  Sunday-school  has  three  functions.  First  and 
chiefly,  it  is  the  agency,  supplemental  to  the  home, 
where  children  and  young  people  are  taught  the 
Christian  religion  of  love  and  service.  Second,  it  is 
a  place  where  older  persons  may  study  the  higher 
problems  of  religious  thought  and  duty.  Third, 
it  is  the  place  where  people  are  trained  to  teach  re- 
ligion to  others.  These  three  functions  suggest  as 
the  divisions  of  the  Sunday-school,  the  primary  and 
adolescent  grades,  the  adult  classes,  the  normal  de- 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

partment.  I  shall  speak  almost  entirely  of  the  first 
division. 

Ideally,  the  Sunday-school  for  children  is  not  a 
school  at  all.  In  an  Edenic  condition  it  is  an  extension 
of  the  home.  It  is  a  place  where  a  wise  and  good  man 
or  woman  gathers  a  group  of  young  people  to  whom 
he  is  in  the  truest  sense  a  god-parent  in  order  to  help 
and  supplement  the  home  in  teaching  the  way  of  life 
and  encouraging  children  to  walk  in  it.  There  are,  of 
course,  pedagogic  laws  to  be  applied  in  Sunday-school 
instruction,  but  the  aim  should  not  be  to  imitate  the 
public  school.  The  model  of  the  Sunday-school  should 
be  rather  the  social  settlement  classes  and  clubs,  where 
the  teacher  and  scholars  are  simply  friends  who  meet 
because  of  interest  in  the  same  subject.  The  Sunday- 
school  class  is  the  proper  unit  for  all  the  organized  work 
of  the  church  among  young  people.  I  look  forward  to 
the  day  when,  instead  of  having  a  Sunday-school  where 
a  great  many  children  come  for  only  an  hour  on  Sun- 
day, and  several  forlorn  Endeavor  societies,  mission 
bands  and  clubs  of  boys  and  girls  which  struggle  to 
hold  the  interest  of  but  a  small  fraction  on  week-days, 
each  class  or  group  of  classes  shall  have  its  week-day 
session  which  shall  be  an  authorized  and  fully  attended 
meeting  of  the  school.  Here  the  secular  mass-club  idea 
of  esprit  de  corps  and  the  group-club  intensive  and 
personal  work  would  both  be  exemplified. 

The  first  essential  for  an  improved  school  is  a  trained 
superintendent.  Behind  even  the  homely  group-class 
idea  must  be  the  man  of  ideal  and  knowledge.  In  the 
larger  churches  such  men  are  being  set  apart  to  this 
as  a  life-work.  There  is  a  great  demand  in  the  smaller 

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SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

churches  for  ministers  who  are  teachers  as  well  as 
pastors. 

Then  we  must  have  good  teachers.  We  naturally 
turn  to  our  public  schools.  But  President  Hyde  tells 
our  public  school  teachers  to  treat  one  who  would  have 
them  teach  Sundays  "  as  a  murderer  who  seeks  your 
life."  Still,  many  of  them  do  teach,  and  they  are  a 
blessing  to  our  schools.  The  mid-week  meeting  of  the 
church  is  to  give  more  and  more  an  opportunity  for 
the  pastor-teacher  to  confer  with  the  laymen-teachers 
as  to  the  principles  and  methods  of  Bible  teaching. 
Fathers  and  mothers  and  other  people  who  have  re- 
tained their  childhood  may  thus  become  competent 
and  efficient  teachers. 

Officers  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  express  great  confidence 
in  the  results  of  their  experiments  in  Bible  classes  in 
which  the  teacher  is  eliminated.  The  pupil-teachers 
are  boys  of  the  same  age  as  their  classes,  or  a  little 
older,  who  have  been  carefully  drilled  by  an  adult  in  a 
normal  class.  Their  belief  is  that  the  absence  of  ser- 
monizing and  the  freedom  from  the  dominance  of  an 
adult  personality  make  for  a  healthy  and  expressive 
class  life.  The  qualities  of  opinionativeness  and  fervor 
in  a  man  which  might  weaken  him  as  a  teacher  of 
unconverted  boys  might  make  him  an  excellent  leader 
of  a  normal  class  of  Christian  boys,  his  force  of  character 
being  their  needed  stimulus  to  consecrated  endeavor. 
The  success  of  this  plan  evidently  depends  on  the 
excellence  of  this  preparatory  work. 

In  regard  to  the  system  of  instruction  much  progress 
may  be  expected,  for  much  has  already  been  secured. 
The  ideal  toward  which  we  are  steadily  moving  is  a 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

graded  set  of  classes  and  a  permanent  graded  selection 
of  material.  One  of  the  best  complete  graded  school 
systems  of  which  I  know  is  that  worked  out  in  the 
Tabernacle  school  connected  with  Chicago  Commons. 
In  outline  it  is  as  follows : 

, "  The  Graded  Bible  School.  There  are  twelve  grades 
in  the  Graded  Bible  School,  corresponding  to  the 
grades  in  the  public  schools  and  covering  the  period 
from  six  to  eighteen  years  in  the  scholar's  life.  The 
school  is  divided  into  Primary,  Junior  and  Senior  de- 
partments, each  including  four  grades.  The  Primary 
and  Junior  equal  the  period  of  grammar  school  and 
the  Senior  that  of  high  school  in  our  public  school 
system.  In  arranging  the  curriculum  the  aim  has  been 
to  adapt  the  work  to  the  needs  of  the  children  and 
young  people  in  the  different  periods  of  their  develop- 
ment in  accordance  with  the  results  of  the  best  modern 
child-study,  and  also  to  cover  the  Bible  material  in  a 
complete  and  orderly  way.  While  the  chief  subject  of 
study  is  the  Bible,  attention  is  paid  to  church  history, 
missions,  present-day  problems  in  ethics.  The  course 
naturally  falls  into  six  divisions.  The  first  two  cover 
the  receptive  period  in  the  child's  life,  the  work  being 
confined  to  Bible  truths  and  Bible  stories,  nature  les- 
sons, object-lessons  and  the  memorizing  of  Scripture 
passages.  The  next  two  divisions  include  the  decision 
period  in  the  child's  life.  The  work  is  in  the  New 
Testament,  including  a  careful  study  of  the  Life  of 
Christ,  the  Early  Church  and  simple  Christian  teaching. 
In  the  fifth  division  the  Old  Testament  is  studied,  and 
in  the  sixth  division,  when  the  young  person  is  in  the 
reconstruction  period  of  life,  the  aim  is  to  inculcate 

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Christian  duties  and  meet  the  questionings  and  diffi- 
culties which  arise  in  the  mind  of  a  young  person  at 
this  time." 

By  the  time  a  youth  has  reached  eighteen  years  of 
age  he  ought,  in  a  model  curriculum,  to  have  secured 
intellectually  a  consecutive  historical  knowledge  of  the 
religious  history  of  that  people  whose  genius  was  re- 
ligion, of  the  events  of  the  life  of  Jesus  with  their  sur- 
roundings, and  of  the  origins  of  the  Christian  Church, 
with  the  developments  of  Christian  history  and  Chris- 
tian missions  that  ensued.  He  ought  also  to  know 
something  of  the  order  and  purposes  and  meanings  of 
the  books  of  the  Bible,  so  that  he  can  read  it  with 
understanding,  discrimination  and  delight.  Ethically, 
he  should  have  faced  in  turn  the  great  moral  situations 
as  they  were  presented  to  the  great  characters  of 
Scripture  in  turn,  and  should  have  formulated  for  him- 
self a  scheme  of  life  from  the  law,  the  prophets  and  the 
gospel.  Spiritually,  he  should  have  been  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  Christ  and  have  given  allegiance  to 
him  and  his  kingdom.  Socially,  the  pessimistic  moods 
of  youth  should  have  been  corrected  by  some  study 
of  social  need  and  modern  social  progress. 

The  next  important  thing  is  the  way  of  instruction. 
Two  vicious  methods  are  now  in  vogue:  the  Lancastrian, 
or  catechetical,  and  the  homiletic.  The  first  is  obsolete 
in  all  other  education.  The  second,  confined  to  re- 
ligious instruction  and  old-fashioned  school  "  gram- 
mar "  work,  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  of  common  sense  is  so  absent  from  the  child  that 
he  will  never  see  the  good  nor  do  it  unless  a  moral  is 
tagged  to  every  verse  in  the  lesson.    This  method,  that 

100 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

of  the  sermonette,  may  do  in  the  adult  Bible  class,  but 
it  is  useless  in  the  junior  classes.  It  is  unfortunately 
perpetuated  by  most  of  the  popular  "  helps  "  pub- 
lished for  teachers. 

It  is  the  picturesque  and  vivid  in  biography  that 
attracts  attention  from  a  boy.  To  him,  life  is  moving, 
adventurous,  highly  colored.  The  reflective  and  the 
passive  moods  are  not  his.  His  mind  is  so  alert  and 
keenly  sensitive  to  moral  issues  that  he  reaches  them 
more  quickly  than  his  teacher  does,  and  then  awaits 
with  surly  suspicion  and  agonizing  self-consciousness 
the  clumsy  and  blunt  way  by  which  his  preceptor 
"  makes  the  application."  Religion  to  him  is  doing, 
not  talking.  He  does  not  want  to  talk  about  it.  He 
will  not  be  talked  to  about  it. 

The  school  of  the  future  will  give  the  little  children 
story-talks  on  the  heavenly  Father  in  nature  and  provi- 
dence, and  the  child's  relation  to  him  as  illustrated 
by  the  childhood  of  Jesus  and  of  other  characters  and 
by  familiar  objects  and  events.  The  mythologic,  the 
sensuous,  the  dramatic  and  the  egoistic  will  be  recog- 
nized in  the  stories  that  follow,  taken  from  the  heroes, 
myths  and  miracles  of  the  Bible  and  other  literatures. 
In  general,  the  Old  Testament  ideals  and  narratives  will 
precede  the  New,  but  not  invariably. 

The  physical  activities  and  some  of  the  apparatus  of 
the  kindergarten  will  yield  in  their  turn  to  the  drill- 
work,  the  picture-and-composition  methods  and  the 
variety  familiar  in  the  elementary  school.  Adolescence 
needs  the  life  of  Jesus  and  of  other  heroes  studied  as 
vitally  as  possible.  One  of  the  most  real  difficulties  in 
the  Sunday-school  is  the  fact  that  to  the  boy  the  Bible 

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SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

is  trite.  It  is  hard  to  find  a  boy  who  does  not  know  as 
much  about  the  Bible  as  he  wants  to.  In  almost  every 
other  subject  in  education  the  element  of  surprise  is 
one  of  the  teacher's  chief  aids.  The  Bible  does  have 
some  surprises  even  for  a  cock-sure  American  boy,  but 
they  are  not  contained  in  the  ordinary  Sunday-school 
quarterly. 

Every  available  graphic  and  manual  method  of  illus- 
tration and  attraction  will  be  pressed  during  those 
years  when  the  laboratory  method  is  central  in  their 
public  school  work  and  when  children  are  so  ready  to 
leave  the  Sunday-school.  At  this  time  cooperative 
study  and  all  the  bonds  of  the  gang  spirit  will  be  em- 
phasized to  help  the  live,  restless,  fickle  youths. 

My  own  experience  with  a  class  of  twenty-six  boys 
may  be  pertinent  here.  The  work  was  first  in  the  life 
of  Christ,  then  in  the  Old  Testament. 

The  class  approached  the  life  of  Jesus  by  a  method 
as  near  as  possible  to  that  by  which  the  German  schools 
study  the  national  heroes  of  Germany:  the  method  of 
travel-study.  By  means  of  stereographs  they  made  a 
journey  to  Palestine,  following  the  events  of  Jesus'  life 
by  journeys  from  place  to  place  in  which  those  events 
occurred.  They  made  the  easy  transition  from  the 
work  of  the  public  school  by  means  of  their  geogra- 
phies, atlases  and  the  announcements  of  the  tourist 
companies. 

At  the  beginning  of  an  average  lesson  they  were  care- 
fully transferred  from  the  scene  and  events  of  the  last 
lesson  to  that  of  the  present.  They  were  shown  by  a 
specially  keyed  map  where  they  were  to  stand,  in  the 
definite  spot  where  the  Master  wrought  at  the  time 

lU 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

under  study,  and  the  exact  territory  over  which  they 
were  to  look.  Then,  as  they  visited  this  spot  by 
means  of  the  stereograph,  they  were  shown  just  where 
the  Master  entered  the  scene,  what  he  did  there  and 
whence  he  departed. 

They  completed  and  connected  their  knowledge  of 
these  places  and  deeds  by  drawing  sketch  maps,  by 
using  a  stereograph  of  the  relief  map  of  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Society,  and  by  molding  certain  contours 
of  territory  with  clay  or  paper-pulp.  This  connected 
knowledge  they  carried  farther  by  records  in  small 
individual  note-books  and  by  novel  reviews. 

Such  instruction  not  only  solves  the  problems  of 
order,  attention,  interest  and  individual  instruction,  but 
it  even  encourages  home  work,  which  in  Sunday-school 
has  been  pretty  nearly  unknown  among  boys  for  some 
time.  The  self-expression  with  the  hands  mentioned 
above  is,  much  of  it,  prepared  at  home;  topics  for 
special  report  and  short  debates  are  worked  up  there, 
and  even  some  optional  work  will  be  thus  done  by 
individuals.  Instead  of  the  study  of  short  sections  of 
Scripture  in  the  class,  long,  consecutive  sections  are 
given  out  for  home  reading,  which  might  be  cut  out  and 
pasted  in  a  note-book,  making  an  illustrated  gospel  of 
a  harmony. 

The  fellowship  instinct  was  utilized  in  making  addi- 
tional reviews  by  having  a  "  class  life  of  Christ,"  to 
which  each  member  contributed  a  chapter  in  turn,  and 
by  having  a  "  class  log,"  in  which  each  in  turn  de- 
scribed the  places  where  he  had  been. 

There  need  be  no  fear  that  such  study  is  not  "  spirit- 
ual."   Inattention    and    irreverence    are   surely    un- 

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SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

spiritual.  Such  methods  fit  the  boys,  interest  them, 
hold  them,  instruct  them.  The  geographical  and 
picturesque,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  become  the  vehicle  of 
the  spiritual.  My  own  experience  was  that  the  stereo- 
scope itself  was,  unexpectedly,  a  powerful  instrument 
for  teaching  the  individual.  Isolated  behind  his  hood, 
looking  as  if  from  a  dark  room  through  a  window  into 
a  strange  world,  his  ears  as  alert  as  his  eyes,  each  of 
my  twenty-six  boys  received  impressions  that  were 
deep,  lasting,  personal.  I  was  teaching,  not  a  class, 
but  twenty-six  separate  hearts. 

A  method  of  study  in  which  the  picturesque  has  less 
attention,  while  the  analysis  of  character  has  more,  has 
been  carefully  worked  out  by  the  Rev.  John  L.  Keedy 
(see  Bibliography).  Here  "the  pupils  pass  judgment 
upon  each  action,  they  approve  or  disapprove  of  each 
person.  Admiration  runs  out  into  choice."  The  note- 
book is  constantly  used  and  serious  attention  is  de- 
manded to  something  which  the  boys  recognize  as 
worth  while.  While  boys  do  come  to  Sunday-school 
usually  with  a  blas4  manner,  their  curiosity  will  respond 
if  real  and  fresh  information  is  actually  presented. 

By  and  by  the  graphic  methods  yield  to  frank  con- 
versation. The  restlessness  and  doubts  and  moral 
cravings  of  the  period  require  also  a  first-hand  dealing 
with  pressing  ethical  problems.  Here,  too,  comes  the 
pressure  for  spiritual  decision.  In  later  years  the  facts 
of  Biblical  criticism  and  the  literature  of  the  Bible 
become  appropriate  topics. 

I  am  inclined  to  prophesy  an  end  to  the  lesson 
quarterlies,  at  least  to  the  almanac  style.  The  young 
children  will  carry  home  pictures  and  occasional  illus- 

113 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

trative  material,  and  will  do  some  little  handicraft  or 
"  laboratory  "  work.  Those  a  little  older  will  have 
lap-boards  and  pencils  and  paper  and  do  some  water- 
color  or  paper-pulp  or  whittling  work,  some  of  it  out- 
side the  class.  The  stereoscope  and  photographs  will 
be  used  to  make  the  land  and  its  customs  real,  and 
sacred  art  will  bring  its  own  spiritual  lessons.  The 
young  men  and  women  will  use  note-books.  If  the 
quarterly  departs,  then  the  teacher's  manual  will  be 
magnified.  Its  "  helps "  will  not  be  expository  or 
homiletic,  but  they  will  consist  in  instruction  to 
broaden  and  enlighten  the  mind  of  the  teacher,  which 
is  the  only  way  to  get  better  teaching. 

As  to  the  boys  who  at  the  age  of  greatest  approach- 
ability  are  being  lost  to  the  school  in  greatest  numbers, 
I  think  the  courses  should  be  shorter  —  say,  three 
complete  courses,  each  on  a  great  life  or  topic,  in  a 
year.  They  should  be  undated,  so  that  a  lesson  may 
be  postponed  if  something  more  important  —  such  as  a 
matter  of  personal  ethics  or  service  —  takes  the  hour. 
There  should  be  for  such  classes  a  separate  room,  or  at 
least  a  measure  of  seclusion.  Variety  and  ingenuity 
of  presenting  the  lesson  and  the  desirability  of  allowing 
some  orderly  changes  of  position  suggest  this.  This 
room  should  resemble  a  laboratory  or  a  workshop  in 
its  equipment. 

The  constant  endeavor  with  boys  must  be  to  keep 
the  point  of  contact  in  real  life,  in  school,  playground, 
current  events,  within  reach.  The  novel  methods  sug- 
gested would  be  thought  by  some  to  make  the  getting 
of  teachers  harder,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  so.  Why 
should  not  people  prepare  each  year  for  a  twelve 

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SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

weeks'  course,  as  a  professor  does  for  his  laboratory 
course,  who  cannot  teach  all  the  year?  The  methods 
I  propose  make  the  question  of  order  so  simple  that  it 
often  removes  the  terror  of  teaching  boys. 

Very  few  classes  of  older  boys  can  be  held  unless 
their  "  gang-spirit  "  is  recognized  by  a  week-day  or- 
ganization. That  organization  may  well  be  carried 
directly  into  the  class,  the  president  calling  each 
session  to  order,  the  secretary  reading  brief  minutes, 
the  treasurer  handling  the  offering  and  the  marshal 
keeping  order.  This  simplifies  the  routine  and  intro- 
duces the  teacher  in  his  proper  relation  to  the  class. 

I  think  teachers  of  such  boys  should  plan,  not  for  a 
yearly  feed,  but  for  a  regular  if  only  occasional  group- 
club  of  their  classes,  separately  or  together.  These 
will  constitute  the  Boys'  Endeavor  Society  of  the 
church.  A  teacher  of  genuine  character,  a  teaching 
that  neither  skulks  nor  dodges  and  a  generous  class- 
life  —  these  make  the  successful  boys'  class. 

The  school  of  week-day  scope,  for  which  I  plead, 
must  be  a  school  of  practise  as  well  as  instruction. 
The  sessions  themselves  give  room  for  some  ethical 
applications.  More  than  this,  the  school  must  stand 
for  actual  religious  activity.  It  may  be  even  demoral- 
izing continually  to  impress  moral  principles  and 
arouse  noble  emotions  and  offer  no  chance  to  exercise 
them.  This  is  the  chief  reason  why  I  urge  that  the 
week-day  societies  of  the  church  be  affiliated  with  the 
Sunday-school.  It  is  not  enough  to  give  a  missionary 
offering  to  a  cause  which  no  scholar  may  know  much  of 
anything  about,  and  to  which  many  have  contributed 
nothing.     The  children  must  learn  to  do  for  others, 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

doing  that  really  costs  time  and  effort  and  skill.  A 
school  that  furnishes  manly  teachers,  frank,  honest 
instruction,  wholesome  social  fellowship  and  loving 
service  for  others  will  hold  a  boy  even  through  his 
years  of  restlessness  and  doubt. 

The  catechetical  revival  is  attaining 
Chnstian  considerable  recent  prominence  and  is 

Classes  assummg  some  dignity  on  account  of  its 

antiquity.  If  the  movement  be  one  for 
doctrinal  instruction,  as  it  presumably  is,  in  the  Pres- 
byterian, Protestant  Episcopal,  Lutheran,  Reformed 
and  Methodist  churches,  which  have  catechisms  pre- 
scribed by  church  law,  we  have,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
opposition  of  the  psychologists,  as  Prof.  C.  R.  Hender- 
son of  the  University  of  Chicago,  who  says,  "  I  know 
no  catechism  which  seems  to  me  suitable  for  any 
person,  young  or  old,  to  commit  to  memory'' ;  President 
G.  Stanley  Hall  of  Clark  University,  who  says,  "  The 
teacher  should  shun  all  catechetical  methods,  most  of 
all  those  that  require  yes  or  no  for  an  answer,  and  next 
those  that  insist  upon  a  form  of  words,  which  always 
tend  to  become  a  substitute  for  thought.  Although 
catechisms  may  have  their  place,  they  are  not  for 
children";  Prof.  H.  C.  King  of  Oberlin,  who  declares 
that  "  Christ's  own  method,  in  bringing  his  disciples 
to  the  confession  of  his  Messiahship,  was  one  of  punc- 
tilious avoidance  of  all  dogmatic  statements  upon  the 
matter";  Prof.  George  A.  Coe,  who,  in  his  "  Spiritual 
Life "  quotes  a  young  teacher  as  saying,  "  Oh,  why, 
why  did  my  parents  try  to  equip  me  with  a  doctrinal 
system  in  childhood?  .  .  .  When  I  began  to  doubt 
some  points,  I  felt  obliged  to  throw  all  overboard,"  and 

110 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

who  adds  himself:  *'  It  is  simply  impossible  to  supply 
a  child  with  real  solutions  of  the  problems  of  life.  .  .  . 
We  should  include  a  great  deal  of  religious  activity, 
but  very  little  religious  theory.  .  .  .  What  he  wants 
most,  after  all,  is  room";  Sir  Joshua  Fitch,  who 
says  of  them:  "  I  attach  small  value  to  catechisms. 
We  never  employ  them  in  teaching  any  other  subject 
than  religion.  And  the  reasons  are  obvious.  They 
are  stereotyped  questions  and  stereotyped  answers. 
They  leave  no  room  for  the  play  of  intelligence  upon 
and  around  the  subject.  They  stand  between  the 
giver  and  receiver  of  knowledge,  and  do  not  help 
either  of  them  much.  ...  I  appeal  to  your  own  ex- 
perience. Do  you  find  that  the  fragmentary  answers 
which  you  learned  in  the  catechism  help  you  much  in 
your  religious  life?  When  I  look  back  on  the  work 
of  my  religious  instructors,  do  I  find  that  I  learned 
most  from  their  formal  lessons,  or  from  the  influence 
of  their  character  and  sympathy?  "  On  the  other 
hand,  the  theologians  are  not  very  encouraging,  as 
witness  Prof.  W.  N.  Clarke,  who  approves  the  cate- 
chism theoretically,  but  succinctly  suggests  that  "  at 
present  there  exists  the  deepest  interest  in  Christian 
doctrine,  but  it  takes  the  form  of  question  rather  than 
of  answer."  Prof.  A.  W.  Anthony  remarks:  "Alas! 
it  has  been  only  in  religion  that  men  have  thought  it 
needful  to  inquire  into  devotion  by  means  of  the 
catechism.  .  .  .  The  personality  of  the  Christ  is  far 
above  all  mere  formulae  of  religion  and  creed  state- 
ments. It  is  to  a  person  that  Christianity  has  ever 
mvited  its  followers." 

Even  the  experiment  of  giving  answers  in  Scripture 

117 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

language  does  not  solve  this  difficulty,  since  there  is  no 
more  supple  and  subtle  form  of  theological  bias  than 
a  proof  text,  while  the  plan  of  throwing  upon  the  chil- 
dren the  burden  of  framing  answers  upon  which  the 
theologians  have  failed  to  agree  is  still  less  satisfactory. 
Many  of  the  new  manuals  omit  answers  and  some 
omit  questions,  many  drop  the  word  catechism,  and 
close  inquiry  shows  that  to  the  pastor-teacher  the 
manual  is  simply  the  solution  book,  like  what  the 
school-teacher  surreptitiously  used  when  teaching 
Wentworth's  "  Geometry,"  while  personality  and  free 
fellowship  between  teacher  and  pupils  are  really  every- 
thing. There  are  at  least  four  dangers  which  might 
beset  a  person  who  was  a  mere  imitator  and  used  the 
manual  of  another.  One  danger  is  that  we  forget  that 
while  early  adolescence,  say  the  age  of  twelve,  is  the 
right  time  to  be  looking  after  the  child,  his  age  for 
formulating  systems  does  not  come  for  five  or  six 
years  later.  Parents  are  nearer  the  right  age  for  a 
catechism  than  are  their  children.  It  would  do  some 
of  them  good.  Another  danger  is  that  we  should  expect 
to  be  able  to  teach  life  out  of  a  booklet  as  we  teach 
the  exact  sciences  and  the  dead  languages.  The  lab- 
oratory method  and  not  the  recitation  method,  learn- 
ing by  doing,  is  needed.  A  third  danger  is  that  in 
emphasizing  memory,  which  we  may  properly  do  since 
the  school  neglects  that  faculty,  we  teach  proof  texts, 
the  dried  figs  of  theology,  instead  of  the  great  inspiring 
passages  of  truth  and  faith.  A  ready-made  answer 
paralyzes,  not  stimulates,  the  mind.  The  last  danger 
is  to  find  thus  the  point  of  contact.  Here  is  a  bound- 
ing, bursting  boy,  with  his  heroisms  and  enthusiasms, 

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SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

and  a  new  sexual,  social  and  moral  nature  that  almost 
overpowers  him,  full  of  moods,  doubts  and  obstinacies. 
Does  the  quiet,  logical,  sweetly  reasonable  catechetical 
method  really  come  to  where  that  boy  lives  and  find 
him  at  home? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church,  where  the  method  is  not  a 
recent  experiment  or  a  thing  by  itself,  most  of  these 
objections  are  met  because  of  its  place  in  a  larger 
system.  It  is  but  one  wheel  of  an  ecclesiastical  ma- 
chine. The  baptized  child  is  accepted  as  a  member 
of  the  ecclesiastical  family,  potentially  regenerate;  the 
catechism  is  not  a  matter  of  special  class  instruction, 
but  it  is  taught  in  the  Sunday-school;  it  is  the  tradition, 
and  so  the  expectation  that  the  child  will  come  for- 
ward in  adolescence  to  prove  his  knowledge  of  the 
catechism  in  the  confirmation  class;  instead  of  waiting 
for  a  cataclysmal  conversion  and  a  Christian  experience 
before  admitting  the  child  into  full  communion,  the 
child  is  admitted  upon  attaining  a  fitting  age  and 
reasonable  knowledge  of  the  catechism,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  in  the  solemn  interim  between  confirmation 
and  the  first  communion,  in  the  activities  that  follow 
or  in  the  fold  of  the  church  with  maturing  character, 
spiritual  life  will  actually  appear.  As  far  as  the  in- 
fluence of  this  plan  can  be  thrown  about  children,  what 
could  be  more  admirably  planned  to  secure  a  quiet, 
normal  Christian  development  and  a  minimum  of  loss 
of  children  in  their  growth  from  one  period  to  another 
of  life? 

In  the  non-liturgical  churches  there  must  be  some 
theory  and  scheme  of  the  relation  of  children  to  the 
church  which  shall  make  it  natural  and  expected  that 

119 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

children  should  enter  full  communion.  At  present  the 
theory,  if  there  be  one,  sometimes  seems  to  be  that  it  is 
not  natural  but  is  rather  surprising  if  this  takes  place. 

In  some  such  churches  children  who  have  been  bap- 
tized or  christened  in  infancy  are  enrolled  as  infant 
members,  brought  at  a  certain  age  for  instruction  and 
then  asked  practically,  not,  "  Will  you  come  into  the 
church?  "  but,  "  Must  you  go  out  of  the  church?  " 

In  many  churches,  principally  I  think  where  the 
children  are  largely  those  of  church-members,  tactful 
pastors  form  annually  these  classes  which  they  in- 
struct in  the  Christian  way,  the  use  of  the  Bible, 
prayer  and  service,  solving  doubts  and  encouraging 
good  ideals  and  practical  living,  and  as  the  result  they 
bring  almost  the  entire  company  each  season  into 
membership. 

The  church  has  other  means  of  help- 
-j   ,    ,  ing  boys  which  are  not  everywhere  rec- 

ognized. The  church  service  itself,  the 
boy  choir,  the  liturgy  where  it  is  used,  the  sacraments, 
are  employed  with  wonderful  power  in  the  Roman 
and  Episcopal  churches  as  an  appeal  to  the  imaginative 
and  dramatic  instincts.  They  may  rightly  be  so  used 
in  other  communions.  Preaching  to  children,  espe- 
cially to  adolescents,  is  the  most  beautiful  art  and  the 
most  rewarding  task  of  the  Christian  minister.  The 
spectacle  of  a  church  full  of  adults,  who  have  passed 
the  era  of  a  crisis  and  most  of  whom  have  been  con- 
verted, engaging  the  efforts  of  a  preacher  is  one  of  the 
most  unsatisfying  sights  on  earth.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
think  one  has  to  "  preach  down  to  "  adolescents.  The 
most  virile,  noble  and  splendid  truth  is  the  best  food 

120 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

for  them.  The  emphasis  upon  Sunday-school  attend- 
ance as  a  substitute  for  children  is  most  unfortunate, 
since  so  many  children  leave  the  Sunday-school  at  the 
age  of  greatest  danger,  and,  having  never  formed  the 
habit  of  church  attendance,  pass  from  all  church  in- 
fluence. My  own  experience  is  that  if  we  give  the 
children  something  to  come  for,  and  encourage  their 
presence  by  simple  rewards  and  attentions,  we  can 
secure  and  sustain  the  habit.  In  my  own  church,  one 
year,  forty-nine  received  such  rewards,  of  whom 
twenty-two  were  boys.  In  response  to  many  inquiries 
as  to  the  method,  I  will  say  that  the  annual  recognition 
which  I  gave  to  all  the  children  who  cared  to  try  for  it 
was  only  a  simple  diploma  with  a  five-cent  Perry  picture 
on  the  back.  To  encourage  such  attendance  among 
children  just  beginning  to  form  the  habit  I  required 
attendance  only  for  a  quarter  at  a  time.  They  were 
given  cards  dated  for  each  Sunday  with  a  space  for 
the  text,  which  were  punched  as  they  entered  the 
church.  Those  who  reached  a  certain  standard  be- 
came the  pastor's  guests  for  an  evening  at  the  close  of 
the  quarter. 

The  revival  appeals  especially  to 
adolescence.  It  satisfies  the  emotional 
nature.  It  is  a  simple  appeal  to  the  heart.  Take 
away  the  late  hours,  the  long  services,  the  untrained 
and  fanatic  exhorters  —  features  which  are  incidental 
—  and  reduce  it  to  a  "  children's  crusade,"  in  which 
the  social  and  emotional  element  is  retained,  where  the 
ideal  of  the  heroic  and  loving  Christ  and  his  grand  and 
strenuous  service  are  held  up  by  the  pastor  or  a  wise 
specialist  with  children,  and  we  have  an  instrument  of 

121 


THE  BOY         PROBLEM 

historic  dignity  and  perpetual  value.     The  danger  is 

the  forcing  of  the  nature  before  it  has  come  to  its  day 

of  choice  and  the  neglect  to  follow  up  the  decision  by 

careful  training. 

^    .  .      ^  A  plan  which  is  being  very  strongly 

Decision  Day  j  •     o      j  u     i     •     i      •    xu   x 

pressed  in  Sunday-school  circles  is  that 

of  Decision  Day,  a  set  day  for  securing  or  registering 
decisions  of  the  adolescent  children  to  follow  Christ. 
A  desire  for  "  results,"  natural  and  often  proper,  seeks 
definite  harvests  after  a  long  season  of  toil.  The  ap- 
pointing of  a  State  Decision  Day  and  tabulating  the 
totals  from  the  day  smacks,  however,  of  loving  chil- 
dren statistically.  A  person  wonders  if  year-books  did 
not  exist  if  the  plan  would  ever  have  been  thought  of. 
The  ease  with  which  great  numbers  are  secured  starts 
the  natural  inquiry  whether  this  is  not  another  "  short 
cut  "  which  will  prove  disappointing  in  the  end.  Does 
this  new  method,  which  works  so  uniformly  that  it 
ought  almost  to  be  patented,  produce  other  than 
mechanical  "  results  "? 

I  tried  the  plan  very  carefully  for  three  consecutive 
years  and  have  sought  earnestly  to  learn  in  my  own 
and  other  fields  what  is  the  real  outcome.  The  method 
used  at  its  best  seems  to  me  to  be  this:  The  aim  is  not 
to  get  great  accessions  to  the  church,  but  to  give  to 
those  who  are  passing  through  the  psychical  crisis  the 
gentle  shock  that  shall  discover  the  child-soul  to  itself 
and  help  it  into  the  Kingdom.  The  time  to  try  the 
plan  is  just  when  this  shock  seems  needed,  and  not  in 
order  to  "  swing  into  line  "  nor  to  be  simultaneous  with 
anybody  else.  It  may  be  done  yearly  or  once  in  three 
years  or  twice  a  year,  according  to  the  spiritual  at- 

122 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

mosphere.  The  plan  should  not  be  announced  to  the 
scholars  much  beforehand,  but  should  be  carefully 
prepared  for  with  the  teachers  and  parents.  The 
present  purpose  is  to  secure  the  quiet  committal  of  a 
group  of  scholars  to  Christ  with  the  immediate  enrol- 
ment of  them  in  a  pastor's  class.  In  some  schools  the 
call  is  so  framed  as  to  secure  a  statement  of  the  re- 
ligious attitude  of  every  member  of  the  school,  thus 
making  a  complete  religious  census.  Usually,  however, 
the  plan  involves  a  card  to  be  signed,  stating  a  purpose; 
for  example,  "  to  live  the  Christian  life  of  love  and 
service."  I  used  a  card  to  be  signed  in  duplicate  and 
witnessed  by  the  parent,  one  half  being  retained  by  the 
child  and  half  by  the  pastor.  I  also  required,  to  avoid 
thoughtless  action,  that  the  signing  be  done  at  home 
and  in  ink.  The  best  way  to  secure  wise  signing  is  to 
make  the  teachers  evangelists  in  their  own  little  par- 
ishes. The  wholesale  signing  or  refusing  to  sign  by  a 
class  is  a  symptom  so  common  that  it  was  what  first 
led  me  to  discount  the  method. 

The  way  the  plan  works  is  this  :  A  startlingly 
large  number  always  sign,  invariably  nearly  a  third. 
Children  like  to  sign  papers.  It  is  a  disease  nowadays. 
Many  adults  have  it.  The  first  occasion  is  always  im- 
pressive. The  minister  probably  sends  word  the  fol- 
lowing Monday  to  his  denominational  weekly  that  he  has 
seventy-five  "converts."  He  has  no  such  thing.  What 
he  really  has  is  hard  to  state.  Sometimes  a  good  many 
join  the  pastor's  class;  oftener,  I  think,  but  few.  The 
church  roll  is  not  materially  affected  unless  these  are  very 
carelessly  rushed  into  the  church.  In  one  warmly  evan- 
gelistic church,  two  years  ago,  one  hundred  and  fifteen 

123 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

cards  were  signed.  Of  these,  twenty  have  since  joined 
the  church.  In  another,  out  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  there  are  thirty-six.  These  "  results  "  convince 
me  that  the  numbers  should  never  be  announced. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  nothing  has  been  accomplished.  The  majority 
mean  what  they  say.  The  Endeavor  Society  shows  the 
impulse  at  once.  Some  clear  cases  of  new  moral  motive 
are  seen.  This  advantage  is  seen  at  once:  A  large 
number,  among  them  some  hitherto  unsuspected  of 
religious  feeling,  make  a  committal  which  opens  the 
way  for  personal  conversation.  Some  other  facts  are 
noteworthy.  Parents  are  apt  to  be  incredulous  of  the 
plan.  They  think  their  child  "  is  not  quite  ready  yet." 
This  may  betoken  ignorance  or  an  instinctive  protection 
of  a  sensitive,  immature  soul  from  rough  hands.  The 
second  and  third  trials  are  not  as  impressive  or  fruitful 
as  the  first. 

The  important  ones  to  regard  are  really  not  those 
who  sign  but  those  who  refrain.  What  of  them? 
There  are  certain  temperaments  who  refuse  to  express 
themselves.  They  may  be  obstinate  or  timid.  This 
is  true:  Boys  and  girls  will  sign  freely  up  to  a  certain 
year  —  about  fourteen  —  and  then  they  will  abruptly 
drop  off.  After  eighteen  or  so  the  signing  is  resumed. 
Those  seem  to  be  the  years  of  reserve.  Then  there  is 
the  leakage,  the  waste,  the  possible  alienation.  When  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  signed,  over  three  hundred  refused 
to  sign.  Is  it  not  possible  that  these  three  hundred 
believe  that  they  have  thus  disowned  Christ?  It 
seemed  a  daring  act,  but  the  heavens  did  not  fall 
nor  the  lightning  strike;  next  year  it  becomes  easier 

124 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 

to  refrain.  Is  it  wholesome  thus  to  lead  young  souls 
up  to  the  great  alternative  and  let  the  will  fail,  and 
do  it  year  after  year?  One  pastor  avoids  this  by 
providing  no  cards  and  making  the  call  only  a  great 
welcome.  Others  carefully  explain  that  it  is  hoped  and 
believed  that  all  desire  to  belong  to  Christ  and  that 
the  day  is  simply  the  opportunity  for  those  who  are 
ready  to  make  the  gift  (the  Easter  gift,  if  it  is  that 
season)  of  themselves  to  God. 

I  trust  that  this  discussion  will  lead  to  thoughtful 
study  as  to  whether  the  plan  is  applicable  in  each  one's 
own  place,  for  that  is  the  real  criterion.  Let  the  values 
be  balanced,  the  conditions  studied,  the  way  life  really 
grows  be  traced,  the  plan  used  with  care,  if  at  all,  and 
the  returns  made  simply  a  guidance  to  loving  personal 
work. 

Since  the  earlier  editions  of  this 
book  were  written  an  organization  has 
sprung  up,  in  England  and  America  and  also  through- 
out the  civilized  world,  enrolling  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  boys  in  and  out  of  churches,  known  as 
the  Boy  Scouts.  The  basis  of  the  movement  is  no 
doubt  in  Mr.  Seton's  "Woodcraft  Indians,"  in  the 
principle  of  self-competition,  the  ideals  of  self-reliance 
and  initiative  and  the  exaltation  of  some  of  the  so- 
called  military  virtues.  Ht  is  a  wholesome  effort  to 
take  boys  who  live  amidst  city  conditions  and  have  lost 
some  of  their  instincts  for  outdoor  life  back  to  the 
woods  and  the  campfire,  to  develop  resource  in  emer- 
gencies, to  make  them  hardy  and  agile,  to  give  them 
something  better  than  the  hysterical  watching  of 
athletic  sports  in  which  other  people  compete,  and  to 

125 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

restore  to  them  the  nobiUty  of  individual  prowess  and 
unrecompensed  service  for  others.  It  gives  its  honors 
by  scientific  tests. j  While  the  original  movement  was 
not  religious,  in  the  sense  of  being  sectarian,  yet  each 
religious  organization  can  add  requirements  of  its  own 
and  adapt  it  to  local  conditions.  The  officers  of  the 
movement  are  meeting  the  perils  of  its  too  sudden 
popularity  by  demanding  higher  requirements  for 
scout  leaders  and  endeavoring  to  supervise  more 
closely  the  activities  of  the  local  troops.  The  plan 
is  suited  for  boys  from  about  eleven  to  fourteen 
years  of  age. 

SELECTED   BIBLIOGRAPHY 

F18KE,  George.     The  Educational  and  Moral  Opportunities  of  Play.    W.  Boy 
Life  and  Self  Government.    N.  Y.  Association  Press.    1911. 

Johnson,  George  Ellsworth.     Education  by  Plays  and  Games.     Boston: 
Ginn.     1907. 

AoDAMs,  Jane.    The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets.    New  York:  Mao- 
millan.     1909. 

Country  Botb 

McKeever.  William  A.     Farm   Boys  and   Girls.     New  York:   Macmillan. 
1911;  Training  the  Boys.     New  York:   Macmillan.     1913. 

Ths  Fabm  Schools 

Reports  of  the  Boston  Farm  School;  the  Good  Will  Homes,  Hinckley,  Me.; 
the  Allendale  Farm  School,  IlUnois. 

Gboup  Botb'  Clubs 

Buck,   Winifred.     Boys'   Self-Governing   Clubs.     New   York:  Macmillan. 
1904. 

Junior  Rbpubucs 

Reports  of  George  Junior  Republic.  Freeville,  N.  Y.;  the  State  of  Columbia, 
Columbia  Park  Boys'  Club,  San  Francisco;  the  National  Junior  Republic 
Association,  New  York.    '^       r     .5  »      '    ■  i 
Junior  Societies 

Robinson,  Ehma  A.    Making  Men  and  Women:  A  Manual  for  Junior  Work- 
ers.    New  York:   Eaton  A  Mains.     1906. 
120 


SOCIAL        ORGANIZATIONS 


Ohqanizations  for  Bot8 

Anti-Cigarette  Society.     Misa  Lucy  Page  Gaston,  The  Temple,  Cbioaco. 

Audubon  Societies,  National  Association  of  New  York. 

Band  of  Hope.  National  Temperance  Society,  58  Reade  Street,  New  York 
City. 

Band  of  Mercy,  19  Milk  Street,  Boston. 

Boy  Scouts  of  America,  200  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

Boys'  Brigade,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Boys'  Life  Brigade,  56  Old  Bailey,  London,  E.  C,  England. 

Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  Hubert  Carleton,  Broad  Exchange  Bldg.,  Boeton. 

Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip,  Philadelphia. 

Captains  of  Ten,  A.  B.  Mclntyre,  51  No.  Avon  Hill  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Christian  Endeavor  Society,  Christian  Endeavor  Headquarters,  Boston. 

Church  Messenger  Service,   120  Boylston  Street,  Boston. 

Home  Library  System.  Children's  Aid  Society,  Boston,  and  Carnegie  Lib- 
rary, Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Knights  of  King  Arthur.  William  BsTxin  Forbush,  1714  Chestnut  St.,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Knights  of  Methodism.    Methodist  Headquarters,  New  York  City. 

Loyal  Temperance  Legion.  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  Headquarters,  The  Temple, 
Chicago. 

Phi  Alpha  Pi  (a  religious  fraternity).  H.  W.  Gibson,  State  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Head- 
quarters, Boston. 

Stamp  Saving  Society,  5  Park  Square,  Boston. 

Woodcraft  Indians.  Ernest  Thompson  Seton,  care  of  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co., 
Garden  City,  N.  Y. 

Obganizationb  of  Woukeks  with  Botb 

The   Federated   Boys'  Clubs  (work  with  street  boys),  35  Congress   Street, 

Boston. 
The  International  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Committee  on  Boys'  Work,  244  W.  28th  St., 

New  York  City. 

Pebiodicals  Devoted  to  Social  Work  with  Bots 

American  Boys,  244  West  28th  Street,  New  York  City. 
Work  with  Boys,  35  Congress  Street,  Boston. 

Platorounds 

Lee,  Joseph.  Play  and  Playgrounds.  This  and  other  playground  pamphlets, 
published  by  The  Playground  and  Recreation  Association  of  America,  1 
Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

Street  Boys'  Clubs 

BENia)iCT,  LxoNABD.    Waifs  of  the  Slums  and  Their  Way  Out.    New  York: 

Revell.     1907. 
Directory  of  Street  Boys'  Clubs. 

127 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


Federated  Boys'  Clubs,  35  Congress  Street,  Boston. 

GcNCKBL,  John  E.    Boyville:  A  History  of  Fifteen  Years'  Work  Among  News- 
boys.    Toledo  Newsboys'  Association.     1905. 
McCoBMicK,  William.     Bojra  and  Their  Clubs.  New  York:  Revell. 

Sunday-School 

Cope,  Henry  F.    Efficiency  in  the  Sunday  School.    New  York:  Doran.    1912. 

The  Modern  Sunday  School  in  Principle  and  Practice.    New  York:  Revell. 

1907. 
Dawson,  Gkorob  E.     The  Child  and  His  Religion.     Chicago:  University. 

1909. 
Haslett,  S.  B.    The  Pedagogical  Bible  School.    New  York:  Revell.     1903. 
HixsoN,  Martha  B.    Missions  in  the  Sunday  School.    New  York:  Missionary 

Educational  Movement.     1906. 
La WRANCE,  Marion.    How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School.    New  York:  Revell. 

1905. 
LiTTLEFiELD,  MiLTON  S.     Hand-work  in  the  Sunday  School.     Philadelphia: 

S.  S.  Times  Co.     1908. 
Smith,  William  Walter.    The  Sunday  School  of  To-day.    New  York:  Revell. 

1911. 

Sunday  School  Study  Courses  fob  Boys 
FOR  juniors:  nine  to  twelve 

Baldwin.  Josephine  L.    The  International  Graded  Sunday  School  Lessons: 

Junior.     Boston:  The  Pilgrim  Press. 
Gates,  Herbert  W.     Life  of  Jesus.     Chicago:  The  University  of  Chicago 

Press. 
Gates,  Herbert  W.     Heroes  of  the  Faith.     New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 

Sons. 
Huntinq,  Harold  B.,  and  Kent,  Charles  F.    The  Junior  Bible.    New  York: 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 
Chamberlain,  Georgia  L.     An  Introduction  to  the  Bible  for  Teachers  of 

Children.     Chicago:  The  University  of  Chicago  Press. 
DiFPENDOBFEB,  Ralph  E.     Child  Life  in  Mission  Lands.     New  York:  The 

Missionary  Education  Movement. 
Cbowell,  Katherine  E.     China  for  Juniors.     (Also  Japan,  Alaska,  Africa 

and  Coining  Americans.)     New  York:  The  Missionary  Education  Move- 
ment. 

fOR  INTBRMXDUTIS:  TWXLVB  TO   FOUBTXBN 

Murray,  Willlam  B.    What  Manner  of  Man  is  this?    New  York:  The  Asso- 
ciation Press. 

Davis,  W.  H.     Men  of  the  Bible.     New  York:  The  Association  Press. 

Atkinson,  Louise  Warren.     The  Story  of  Paul  of  Tarsus.     Chicago:  The 
University  of  Chicago  Press. 

Soares,  Theodore  G.    Heroes  of  Israel.    Chicago:  The  Univer«ity  of  Chicago 
PreM. 

128 


SOCIAL       ORGANIZATIONS 


F0RBU8H.  WiLUAM  Btron.  Travel  Lessons  on  the  Old  Testament,  and  Travel 
Lessons  on  the  Life  of  Jesus.     New  York:  Underwood  and  Underwood. 

FOB   HIGH   SCHOOL   YEARS:    FOURTEEN   TO   EIOHTEBN 

jBNXSt  Jeremiah  W.     Life  Questions  of  High  School  Boys.    New  York:  The 

AsMoiation  Press. 
FoBBTTBH,  William  Btbon.    The  Life  of  Jesus.    New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 

Sons. 
Burton,  Ernest  D.      The  Gospel  of  Mark.      Chicago:  The  University  of 

Chicago  P*res8. 
Williams,  Leon  Kurtz.    The  Men  of  the  Old  Testament.     New  York:  The 

Association  Press. 
Lbacock,  Alfred  G.     The  Life  of  St.  Paul.     New  York:  The  Association 

Frees. 
Life  Studies,  by  Various  Authors.      Boston:  The  Unitarian  Sunday  School 

Association. 
FoRBUSH,  William  Btron.    Young  People's  Problems.     New  York:  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons. 
Hunting,  Harold  B.     Christian  Life  and  Conduct.     New  York:  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons. 
Perkins,  Richard  R.    The  Comrades  of  Jesus.     New  York:  The  Associa- 
tion Press. 

FOR   older   BOTS:    EIGHTEEN   TO  TWENTT-ONB 

Strong,  Josiah.  The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom.  New  York:  The  Institute  of 
Social  Service. 

DooaBTT-BuRR-BAX.LrCoopER.  Life  Problems.  New  York:  The  Associa- 
tion Press. 

BooNE,  Ilset.  The  Conquering  Christ.  New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons. 


190 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


SOME  SUGGESTIONS   AS  TO  HOW  TO   HELP 
BOYS 

Summary  The  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  to 

of  Preceding        describe  some  of  the  tools  of  influence 
Chapters  which  individuals  and  institutions  may 

use  in  helping  boys  socially. 

The  preceding  chapters  may  be  summarized  in  the 
following  statement  of  principles  for  work  with  boys: 

1.  Importance  of  the  Period.  The  last  nascencies  of 
the  instincts,  the  completion  of  the  habits,  the  psychical 
crisis,  the  infancy  of  the  will,  the  birth  of  the  social 
nature,  the  disparity  between  the  passions  and  appe- 
tites and  the  judgment  and  self-control,  and  the  fact 
that,  for  normal  and  abnormal  boys  alike,  this  is  the 
close  of  the  plastic  age,  make  this  the  most  critical 
period  of  life,  and  one  which  should  converge  upon 
itself  the  wisest  and  strongest  social  and  moral  influ- 
ences. 

2.  Necessity  of  Study  of  Adolescence.  The  change- 
ableness,  secretiveness  and  infinite  variety  of  boys  at 
this  period  make  necessary  not  only  a  study  of  the 
generalizations  of  psychology,  but  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  antecedents,  surroundings  and  influences  of 
each  boy  who  is  under  care  and  guidance. 

3.  What  Boys  Like.  Social  companionship  of  neigh- 
borhood groups  of  boys  of  their  own  age,  chiefly  for 
physical  activities. 

130 


SOME        SIJgGESTTONS 

4.  What  Boys  Need.  Nutrition,  exercise,  whole- 
some environment,  guarded  organization,  arousement 
of  self-activity,  teaching  by  interest,  will-training  by 
self-originative  muscular  activity  and  handiwork,  some- 
thing to  love,  something  to  know,  something  to  do 
constantly,  "  religion  of  a  physical  nature  if  that  is 
possible."  As  to  organization,  the  esprit  de  corps  of 
numbers,  but  the  personal  dealing  with  smaller  groups, 
where  possible.  As  to  teaching,  keeping  a  little  in 
advance  of  the  boy,  without  becoming  unnatural. 
The  chief  requirements  of  the  leader:  powers  of  obser- 
vation, collation  and  reasoning,  persistence,  firmness, 
justice,  self-mastery  and  self-adjustment,  large-minded- 
ness  and  large-heartedness  and,  above  all,  childlikeness. 

These  statements  lead  to  an  inquiry  as  to  the  in- 
strumentalities at  our  service. 

The  greatest  means  of  helping  the  boy 
ome  .^  ^^^  Home.     I  have  not  emphasized 

this  because  we  have  been  talking  of  other  things. 
But  the  one  thing  that  discourages  the  social  worker 
for  boys  is  the  recognition  that  the  divinely  appointed 
institution,  which  has  the  most  of  the  boy's  time, 
interest  and  loyalty  and  every  needed  inspiration  and 
appliance  for  his  nurture,  is  untrue  to  its  duty,  and 
that  nothing  else  can  possibly  take  its  place.  It  is  the 
personality  of  the  mother  that  originates  in  the  child 
the  earliest  and  the  most  permanent  ideas  of  God. 
When  a  boy  arrives  at  adolescence  he  turns  from  his 
mother  to  his  father.  That  law-giving  deity  of  the 
early  years  is  now  a  peer,  a  companion  and  a  sympa- 
thizer. The  boyhood  of  the  father  is  the  hero  of  the 
son.     It  is  almost  impossible,  as  it  seems  ungracious, 

131 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

to  provide  substitutes  for  the  ethical  teaching  and 
practise  of  the  home.  "  In  Sparta  when  a  boy  com- 
mitted a  crime  his  father  was  punished."  The  in- 
fluences that  disrupt  the  home  and  prevent  its  members 
from  ever  being  together  are  most  dangerous,  not  in 
their  influence  upon  the  parents,  but  upon  the  child. 
It  is  the  evening  lamp  that  is  home's  lighthouse.  A 
home  without  a  good  eventime  is  a  home  without  hope, 
and  the  way  a  boy's  day  ends  at  home  is  a  prophecy 
of  the  way  his  life  will  end.  The  hour  after  sunset  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  day.  It  seems,  too,  as  if  the  very 
years  of  crisis  were  those  most  neglected.  Many 
parents  to-day  are  like  cuckoos,  willing  to  leave  their 
young  in  anybody  else's  nest.  Prof.  F.  G.  Peabody  has 
pointed  out  that  the  modern  boarding-school  and 
summer-camp  system  for  well-to-do  boys  is  really  a 
"  placing-out  system,"  analogous  to  that  applied  to 
poor  orphan  and  neglected  children.  Especially  do 
parents  seem  willing  to  trust  their  religious  nurture  to 
those  who  may  be  willing  to  take  up  the  task  of  saving 
other  people's  children. 

While  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  home  can  fully 
express  all  of  a  boy's  vitality  and  interests  beyond  a 
certain  age,  many  boys  could  be  carried  through  the 
age  of  unrest  without  resort  to  outside  agencies.  When 
the  "  gang "  spirit  appears,  the  parent  can  cooperate 
with  it,  rather  than  obstruct  it.  Jacob  Riis  tells  how 
his  wife  met  such  a  case  of  apparently  dangerous 
conniving: 

"  My  wife  discovered  the  conspiracy,  and,  with 
woman's  wit,  defeated  it  by  joining  the  gang.  She 
'  gave  in  wood  '  to  the  election  bonfires,  and  pulled  the 

132 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

safety-valve  upon  all  the  other  plots  by  entering  into 
the  true  spirit  of  them,  —  which  was  adventure  rather 
than  mischief,  —  and  so  keeping  them  within  safe 
lines.  She  was  elected  an  honorary  member,  and  be- 
came the  counsellor  of  the  gang  in  all  their  little  scrapes. 
I  can  yet  see  her  dear  brow  wrinkled  in  the  study  of 
some  knotty  gang  problem  which  we  discussed  when 
the  boys  had  been  long  asleep.  They  did  not  dream 
of  it,  and  the  village  never  knew  what  small  tragedies 
it  escaped,  nor  who  it  was  that  so  skilfully  averted 
them." 

The  happiest  memory  of  my  own  boyhood  —  in  a 
place  where  the  neighborhood  spirit  was  yet  warm  — 
was  of  the  weekly  evening  gatherings  in  the  various 
homes  in  turn,  with  the  elders  conversing  at  one  end 
of  the  room  and  we  youngsters  playing  games  and  act- 
ing plays  and  charades  at  the  other.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber that  any  of  us  ever  cared  to  be  anywhere  else  at 
night.  No  doubt  the  boys'  club  that  meets  in  a  home 
attic  or  kitchen  is  the  best  type  in  the  world.  The 
curfew  ordinance  has  at  least  the  advantage  of  making 
it  necessary  for  the  parent  to  keep  the  child  in  the  home 
evenings. 

Next  to  the  evenings,  Sundays  are  the  times  of  the 
greatest  opportunity  in  the  home.  I  know  how  hard 
it  is  to  abbreviate  the  afternoon  nap  for  the  sake  of 
the  boy,  but  it  is  better  to  awake  at  some  discomfort 
now  than  to  be  kept  awake  by  anxiety  later.  This  day 
is  in  many  a  home  the  only  opportunity  ever  open  for 
what  I  conceive  to  be  essential  to  an  adolescent  boy, 
a  walk  with  his  father  alone.  The  Junior  Endeavor 
movement  has  kindly  taken  the  burden  of  Sunday 

133 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

afternoon  from  many  a  parent,  and  has  thereby  done 
a  wrong  to  nature,  to  the  home,  to  the  Sabbath  and  to 
both  parent  and  child.  The  dumping  of  children  into 
Sunday-schools  that  their  parents  may  go  off  Sundays 
is  heathenish  and  abominable.  It  is  also  a  question 
how  far  any  outsider  has  the  right  to  encourage 
religious  feeling  in  a  child  without  the  knowledge  of 
its  parents. 

If  the  period  of  habit-making  has  been  passed  wisely 
in  a  simple,  consistent,  pious  home  life,  the  period  of 
will-training  will  present  fewer  diflBculties.  I  cannot 
emphasize  too  much  in  the  matter  of  will-training  the 
advantages  of  the  country  home.  The  good  will  is 
there  more  easily  fostered  because  the  boy  is  from  the 
start  an  active  member  of  the  firm.  City  households 
that  are  able  to  emigrate  bodily  to  the  country  solve 
half  the  difficulties  of  restless  childhood  and  store  up 
material  for  winter  nourishment  and  exercise.  The 
country  week  and  the  vacation  school  and  the  summer 
camp  do  the  same  thing  in  a  lesser  degree. 

With  all  the  space  I  have  given  to  the  description  of 
social  agencies  I  am  in  heartiest  agreement  with  the 
Rev.  Parris  T.  Farwell,  when,  speaking  of  church 
organizations  for  children,  he  says:  "  We  need  to-day, 
not  more  work  in  the  church  for  children,  more  infant 
classes,  catechetical  classes  and  Junior  Endeavor  so- 
cieties, but  more  work  for  the  homes  of  our  people. 
We  need  a  deeper,  holier,  sublimer  conception  of  the 
family,  its  relationships,  duties  and  opportunities.  We 
need  more  faithful  parents.  In  this  respect  we  are 
growing  worse  rather  than  better.  And  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  our  church  organizations  for  children  are 

134 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

helping  this  downward  movement.  More  and  more 
the  home  is  handing  over  its  function  as  a  school  for 
the  child  to  outside  institutions  which  are  absolutely 
incapable  of  doing  the  work  as  it  should  be  done. 
These  institutions  are  better  than  none  for  children 
who  come  from  unchristian  homes,  but  they  never  can 
fill  the  place  which  the  father  and  mother  should  fill 
in  training  their  children  for  Christ.  I  know  of  no 
weightier  problem  for  the  church  to  solve  than  that  of 
restoring  to  the  home,  in  the  face  of  the  materialism 
of  the  age  and  the  industrial  system  under  which  we 
live,  the  religious  life  which  belongs  to  the  home  and 
which  alone  can  keep  it  sacred.  This  I  consider  to  be 
the  indispensable  factor  in  true  preparation  of  children 
for  Christ's  service.  Other  things  which  we  are  under- 
taking and  which  it  is  wise  to  undertake  are  make- 
shifts, taking  the  place  which  does  not  belong  to  them." 
Next  to  the  home  we  must  place  instrumentalities 
that  are  homelike.     Celia  Thaxter  told  of 

"  The  gracious  hollow  that  God  made 
In  every  human  shoulder,  where  he  meant 
Some  tired  heart  for  comfort  should  be  laid." 

God  destined  some  people  to  be  parents.  The  rest 
he  left  for  god-parents.  That  old  chrismal  idea  needs 
to  be  revived.  Many  an  empty  heart  could  be  filled 
with  lad's-love.  There  are  great  houses  which  are  silent 
that  could  be  made  musical  with  wondering  children; 
and  unsatisfied,  cultured  lives  that  could  be  poured  out 
in  no  finer  crusade  than  to  give  a  few  boys  a  place  that 
has  the  home  touch  once  or  twice  a  week.  Some  Sun- 
day-school teachers  have  thus  brought  the  school  into 

186 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

that  contact  with  Ufe  whose  lack  we  mourned  in  our 
last  chapter.  Many  a  young  college  graduate  has  done 
the  same.  Among  the  well-planned  ways  of  aiding 
poorer  children  and  helping  their  homes  at  the  same 
time  I  think  the  best  is  the  Home  Library  System,  with 
its  circulating  game  and  picture  adjuncts. 

Next  we  have  the  Public  School.  The 
The  Public  increasing  proportion  of  crime  in  Amer- 

ica, the  exposure  of  financial  corruption, 
the  alarming  spread  of  mammonism  or  money-grub- 
bing and  wasteful  luxury,  the  recent  study  of  the 
prevalence  of  juvenile  misdeeds,  have  aroused  much 
discussion  as  to  the  function  of  the  school  in  the  moral 
education  of  the  citizenship  of  the  future.  The  fact 
that  the  schools  have  all  our  children  for  more  hours 
a  day  than  their  parents  do,  and  the  fact  that  the 
schools  have  great  opportunities  for  moral  education, 
suggest  that  perhaps  they  could  do  more  than  they  are 
now  doing  to  affect  the  morality  of  the  nation.  It  is 
the  belief  of  many  that  the  real  battle  for  honor  and 
conscience  is  to  be  fought  in  the  schools  and  not  in  the 
churches. 

For  the  sake  of  those  who  are  not  familiar  with 
public  school  work  to-day  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
enumerate  some  of  the  character-making  influences 
that  the  modern  school  is  emphasizing.  Among  them 
are:  the  beauty  of  the  building  and  its  surroundings, 
the  care  of  the  growing  plants  by  the  scholars  and  the 
supervision  of  the  play  hour  by  the  teachers,  in  many 
states  the  reading  of  the  Bible  without  comment,  in  all 
states  the  singing  of  songs  of  worship  and  the  salute 
to  the  flag,  celebration  of  patriotic  days  and  the  birth- 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

days  of  heroes.  The  new  curriculum,  with  all  its  "  fads 
and  frills,"  makes  more  distinctly  for  character  than 
did  the  old  one. 

Manual  training,  physical  training,  literature,  science 
and  nature  study  are  especially  valuable.  In  pursuing 
such  studies,  the  spirit  of  wonder,  reverence  and 
humility,  the  love  of  accuracy  and  truth,  enthusiasm, 
honor  and  self-mastery  are  inculcated.  "  Every  school 
subject  and  every  personal  relation,"  says  Dr.  Hervey, 
*'  has  its  roots  in  infinity."  School  discipline  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  self-discipline  and  the  school  fel- 
lowship in  study  and  play  (the  modern  high  school 
secret  fraternity  excepted)  makes  for  fine  group  work 
and  a  generous  social  spirit.  In  many  schools,  as  is 
directly  urged  in  the  schools  of  New  York  City,  the 
children  are  urged  first  ''  to  put  themselves  in  their 
own  places,"  i.e.,  to  develop  the  personal  imagination 
to  foresee  the  results  of  their  own  conduct,  and  then 
"  to  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  others,"  i.  e.,  to 
develop  the  social  imagination  and  try  to  think  for  and 
serve  each  other.  In  most  schools  the  type  of  ethical 
teaching  is  much  loftier  than  that  of  the  street  and 
indeed  of  many  homes.  The  heroes  exalted  are  the 
poets,  the  seers  and  those  who  lived  or  died  for  others. 
The  emphasis  on  success  is  that  to  succeed  is  to  succeed 
inside.  The  obedience  urged  is  when  "  a  moral  man," 
as  Dr.  Hervey  says,  "  obeys  himself."  The  teaching 
is  also  more  wise  than  in  the  Sunday-school,  for  it  is 
done  not  by  sermonizing,  but  by  making  each  child 
discover  moral  truth  for  himself. 

As  to  the  desirability  of  direct  and  formal  teaching 
in  morals  there  is  among  educators  a  decided  difference 

137 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

of  opinion.  Some  believe  character  cannot  be  learned 
out  of  a  book  and  that  ethical  text-books  actually 
create  a  perversity  for  evil.  Others  think  that  a  sub- 
ject that  has  no  place  in  the  curriculum,  which  has  no 
time  set  or  allowed  for  it,  no  test  for  a  guide  and  no 
methods  of  teaching  prescribed,  will  as  certainly  drop 
out  of  sight  and  force  as  would  geography  if  it  were 
treated  in  the  same  way.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most 
teachers,  whatever  their  theories,  do  actually  teach  a 
good  deal  directly  about  personal  cleanliness  and  self- 
respect,  do  "  in  season,  out  of  season,  reprove,  rebuke, 
exhort  with  all  longsuffering  and  doctrine  "  concerning 
the  common  duties  and  virtues  of  the  home,  the  street 
and  the  school,  give  some  instruction  in  etiquette  and 
temperance,  and  do  all  this  with  some  regard  for  peda- 
gogic method.  Some  would  go  further  and,  with  Mr. 
Bigg,  ask  for  an  "ethnic  Bible,"  a  collection,  as  Dr. 
G.  Stanley  Hall  urges,  of  biographical  illustrations  of 
all  the  great  human  virtues. 

It  is  a  commonplace  to  say  that  the  teacher  is  the 
greatest  moral  force  in  the  school.  Many  feel  that  the 
strongest  incentive  toward  keeping  the  schools  out  of 
politics  is  to  elect  school  boards  which  shall  make  the 
character  of  teachers  the  comer-stone  of  the  school 
system.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  needs  of  adoles- 
cent boys  there  is  considerable  cause  for  alarm  because 
the  lure  of  commercial  success  and  the  competition  of 
women  have  produced  a  feminization  and  lowering  of 
the  masculine  quality  of  the  teaching  profession.  The 
danger  is  that  our  boys  shall  be  taught,  as  Supt.  Walter 
H.  Small  suggests,  only  *'  by  young  girls  and  weak  men." 

A  wise  word  needs  to  be  said,  which  I  cannot  say, 

138 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

about  the  relation  of  the  home  to  the  school.  The  old 
method  was  that  the  mother  would  "  visit  school  "  and 
then  invite  the  teacher  to  tea.  That  sylvan  ideal  still 
has,  it  seems  to  me,  its  validity.  The  mother  and 
father  ought  to  know  the  person  who  has  most  of  their 
boy's  work  time  and  who  probably  knows  him  better 
than  they  do.  School  visiting  in  school  hours,  how- 
ever, is  of  doubtful  value.  The  mother  will  very  likely 
find  herself  only  bewildered  by  the  glimpse  she  gets  of 
"  the  new  education,"  and  it  is  certainly  tactless  at 
least  to  attempt  to  interrupt  the  work  of  forty  to 
"  talk  to  teacher  about  Johnnie."  Forty  invitations 
to  tea  would  also  be  quite  an  ordeal  to  any  teacher, 
though  one  is  as  many  as  most  teachers  get.  An  inter- 
view immediately  after  school  in  the  school-room  be- 
tween teacher  and  parent  is  probably  the  best  arrange- 
ment, and  is  one  that  is  usually  profitable  not  only  to 
these  two  parties,  but  also  to  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion. 

The  school  and  the  teacher  must  not  be  blamed  for 
everything.  Let  the  school  be  as  noble  and  earnest 
as  it  may,  and  outside  the  school  still  exist  poor  homes, 
the  temptations  of  the  street,  public  disorder,  bad 
associates,  vile  literature  and  a  public  sentiment  which, 
whether  expressed  in  literature  or  life,  is  neither  re- 
liable nor  uniformly  uplifting.  Then,  too,  the  children 
whom  the  schools  turn  out  are  not  finished  and  stable 
characters.  They  leave  school  at  the  time  that  is 
most  critical  morally  in  their  lives.  The  school  ought 
to  endeavor  to  arm  them  for  the  battle,  but  it  cannot 
aid  them  further  in  the  struggle  or  be  wholly  responsible 
for  the  result. 

130 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

Some  recent  evidences  of  the  way  the  public  school 
is  invading  personal  and  home  life  are  suggesting  that 
the  life  of  the  community,  both  social  and  moral,  is  to 
center  more  and  more  in  the  schoolhouse.  We  already 
have  ''  home  work,"  reception  days  to  parents,  parents* 
conferences,  school  dances  and  excursions.  Now  ef- 
forts are  making  to  use  schoolhouses  in  great  cities  for 
workingmen's  clubs,  as  they  are  already  being  opened 
in  New  York  City  for  clubs  for  street  boys.  Baths  in 
schoolhouses  are  sometimes  opened  to  adults  outside 
school  hours.  The  opening  of  branch  public  libraries 
in  public  parks,  and  the  building  of  municipal  baths, 
recreation  halls  and  shelters  are  further  extensions  of 
the  municipaUty  into  the  domestic  and  social  life  of  the 
people. 

There  remain  to  be  mentioned  some  tools  of  char- 
acter-building that  have  not  the  dignity  of  being  dis- 
tinct institutions. 

In  my  first  chapter  I  made  strong 
and  Play  emphasis   upon   the  place   of   play  in 

child-life.  I  even  intimated  that  it  was 
what  childhood  was  made  for.  This  was  the  idea  of 
Groos  who  said  that  it  is  not  true  that  animals  and 
children  play  because  they  are  young;  they  are  young 
because  they  need  to  play.  Jean  Paul  said:  "  Play  is 
the  first  poetry  of  the  human  being.'*  "  The  essence  of 
play,"  says  Hamilton  Wright  Mabie,  "  is  the  conscious 
overflow  of  life  that  escapes  in  perfect  self-forgetful- 
ness."  Another  says  that  "  play  is  joyous  because  it 
satisfies  the  highest  function  of  which  the  child  is 
capable."  A  different  statement  of  the  same  thought 
is  made  by  John  M.  Pierce  when  he  says,  "  What  gives 

MO 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

zest  to  a  game  is  the  story  in  it."  This  relation  of  the 
imagination  to  the  physical  expenditures  is  so  close 
that  it  is  not  a  joke  but  an  actual  fact  that  a  boy  be- 
comes more  tired  sawing  wood  than  in  the  much  more 
violent  exercise  of  playing  ball.  Naturally,  the  im- 
portance of  play  in  education  is  being  studied.  It  is 
remembered  that  the  Greeks  made  the  games  and  play 
of  their  children  an  integral  part  of  their  education.  It 
is  remembered  that  a  thousand  years  ago  our  Norse 
ancestors  taught  every  child  of  noble  birth  to  do  eight 
things:  to  ride,  to  swim,  to  steer,  to  skate,  to  throw  the 
javelin,to  play  chess,  to  play  the  harp,  to  compose  verses. 

"  The  English  know  how  to  turn  out  an  efficient 
man,"  says  De  Garmo,  "  by  combining  fifteenth  cen- 
tury instruction  with  modern  play."  Dr.  D.  G. 
Brinton  is  thus  led  to  say:  "  The  measure  of  value  of 
work  is  the  amount  of  play  there  is  in  it,  and  the 
measure  of  value  of  play  is  the  amount  of  work  there 
is  in  it." 

Mr.  George  E.  Johnson  is  the  one  who  has  made  the 
most  careful  study  of  and  practise  with  play  in  educa- 
tion. He  urges  that  "  for  school  children  should  be 
chosen,  as  far  as  possible,  the  games  which  are  based 
on  instinctive  tendencies.  On  the  hunting  instinct 
may  be  based  games  of  chase,  games  of  searching  or 
hunting,  games  of  hurling  or  throwing;  on  the  fighting 
instinct,  games  of  contest,  as  wrestling,  boxing,  trials 
of  strength;  on  emulation,  as  jumping,  racing,  trials  of 
skill;  on  curiosity,  parlor  magic,  riddles;  on  sociability, 
the  social  games;  on  acquisitiveness,  collections;  on 
constructiveness,  wood-work,  sewing,  making  toys, 
doll-dresses;  on  the  caring  instinct,  dolls,  pets." 

141 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

The  purpose  of  choosing  games  should  be,  he  says; 

"  1.  To  stimulate  a  healthy  play  interest  and  edu- 
cate it. 

"  2.  To  play  games  adapted  to  exercise  certain 
faculties  of  the  mind  and  body. 

"  3.  To  teach  games  which  may  be  played  at  home." 

On  page  150  I  describe  Professor  Burr's  plan  for 
coordinating  stories  with  play. 

De  Garmo  would  also  urge  as  of  equal  importance  the 
subordinating  for  the  high  school  boys  of  the  college 
type  of  play,  which  admits  of  but  small  teams  of  picked 
players,  and  adopting  or  adapting  those  English  types 
that  give  every  boy  a  chance. 

While  it  is  a  matter  of  experience  that  games  teach- 
ing observation,  memory,  attention  and  furnishing 
physical  activity  are  quite  numerous,  active  indoor 
social  games  which  can  engage  a  large  social  group  are 
also  very  few.  He  would  be  a  benefactor  to  childhood 
who  would  present  even  one  good  one.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  games  enjoyable  by  older  boys  and  girls. 

The  gymnasium  is  instantly  attract- 

Gymnasiiims        •       .         v  tt  •     xi  j 

ive  to  a  boy.     He  sees  m  the  ropes  and 

bars  and  chest  weights  the  vision  of  himself  as  an 

athlete  and  a  victor.     I  do  not  think  the  gymnasium 

as  mere  physical  exercise  appeals  to  many  boys.     It 

gives  them  nothing  to  anticipate  or  to  remember.     I 

think  it  is  to  the  combative  and  emulative  nature  that 

it  appeals.     This  is  seen  in  the  way  basket-ball  is 

dominating  our  Y.  M.  C.  A.  gymnasiums.     For  these 

reasons  the  gymnasium  should  be  controlled  by  the 

play-interest.     And  as  it  is  this  interest  that  dominates, 

those  boy  leaders  who  have  no  gymnasium  can  get 

14S 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

along  without  it  if  the  play-interest  in  physical  direc- 
tions can  get  some  exercise. 

This  is  the  reason  why  hand-training  is 

commended.  It  gives  the  boy  more  than  the 
gymnasium;  it  appeals  to  more  instincts.  The  trained 
hand  opens  the  door  of  shop  and  laboratory.  It  not  only 
is  the  chief  means  of  will-training,  but  it  leads  to  the  dis- 
covery of  adaptabilities  of  life,  it  opens  the  way  to  specific 
usefulness,  it  solves  the  question  of  the  life  tendencies, 
it  develops  the  expressing  man,  and  the  interest  it  excites 
leaves  no  room  for  crime,  self-indulgence  or  mischief. 

Wood-work  would  naturally  suggest  itself  as  the 
easiest  and  least  expensive  form  of  handiwork,  as  well 
as  the  most  varied  in  result.  Elaborate  equipment  or 
salaried  teachers  are  not  indispensable.  It  is  very  easy 
to  let  the  hobby  of  utilitarianism  and  the  desire  to 
make  pretty  things  to  photograph  for  the  annual  report 
run  away  with  the  handiwork  method.  The  purpose 
should  be,  I  take  it,  not  to  make  artisans  but  manhood, 
not  hand-agility  but  will-power.  For  this  purpose  I 
know  nothing  better  than  to  plan  some  cooperative 
task,  such  as  the  beautiful  achievement  of  Miss  Mack- 
intire's  "  Captains  "  in  making  an  "  Inasmuch  "  motto 
for  the  Labrador  hospital,  or  an  entertainment,  like 
"  Hiawatha,"  for  which  weapons  and  costumes  shall  be 
contrived  by  the  boys  themselves.  What  is  done 
should  be  worth  doing  and  be  well  done.  This  faculty 
for  mechanical  and  individual  efficiency  has  been 
almost  lost  to-day  in  the  differentiation  of  labor. 

"A    bone    in    a    boy's    mind,''    says 

George  Meredith,  "for  him  to  gnaw  and 
worry    corrects     the    vagrancies    and    promotes    the 

143 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

healthy  activities,  whether  there  be  marrow  in  it  or 
not." 

Dr.  G.  Stanley  Hall  found,  some  years  ago,  that  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  Boston  schoolboys  only 
nineteen  had  no  collections.  A  recent  study  of 
children's  collecting  shows  that  the  fever  begins  at 
about  six,  rages  from  eight  to  eleven,  is  at  its  height 
at  ten,  and,  among  boys,  lessens  after  fourteen.  Of 
things  collected  the  following  general  classes  exist: 

Cigar  pictures,  and  stamps,  34  per  cent. 

Objects  from  nature,  32  per  cent. 

Playthings,  11  per  cent. 

Miscellaneous,  mostly  trivial,  8  per  cent. 

Pictures,  6  per  cent. 

Historical,  3  per  cent. 

Literary,  2  per  cent. 

The  rage  for  stamps  is  from  nine  to  eleven,  and  for 
cigar  and  cigarette  pictures  from  eleven  to  twelve. 
Among  the  prominent  single  objects  gathered,  besides 
those  already  mentioned,  are  picture  post  cards, 
marbles,  advertising  cards,  books,  rocks,  shells,  war 
relics,  buttons,  badges. 

While  local  opportunities  vary,  these  facts  would 
furnish  suggestion  as  to  the  directions  of  probable  in- 
terest. It  will  add  much  to  the  value  of  the  process 
if  the  apparatus  used,  such  as  aquaria,  cages,  flower- 
presses,  scrap-books,  be  made  by  the  boys  themselves. 
Great  as  are  the  advantages  to  health 
Camps,  Tours  ^^^^  recuperation  of  giving  city  boys 
and  Vacation  ,  •      .i.       i.-  r     j        x 

Philanthropies     country  air,  the  chief  advantage  seems 

to  be  that  the  country  is  a  boy's  own 
home-land.    Here  only  are  the  instincts  of  his  life 

144 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

satisfied,  and  here  only  can  he  rightly  develop  the  more 
elementary  part  of  his  nature.  Mr.  E.  M.  Robinson  in 
his  excellent  study  of  boys'  camps  says:  "  The  rowing, 
the  swimming,  the  games  and  athletics,  the  plain  food 
and  fresh  air,  the  freedom  of  dress  and  action,  the 
enduring  of  trifling  inconvenience,  and  the  running  of 
trifling  risks,  the  touch  with  nature  in  storm  and  calm, 
the  looking  out  for  one's  self,  the  exercise  of  one's 
judgment,  the  following  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the 
camp,  and  the  leading  of  the  following  spirits  and  a 
hundred  and  one  other  things,  all  tend  to  make  the 
camp  a  place  where  the  boy  will  develop  those  savage 
virtues  which  are  the  admiration  of  boyhood.  .  .  . 
I  Every  tendency  of  the  camp  is  to  develop  the  manly 
side  of  his  nature,  and  to  make  him  despise  and  rise 
above  all  that  is  weak  and  effeminate."  The  enjoy- 
ment of  uncomfortableness,  the  desire  to  be  on  the 
water  and  in  the  water  and  close  to  a  body  of  water, 
to  be  in  the  sand,  to  stay  out  all  night,  to  sleep  on 
the  ground,  to  bury  one's  self  in  the  sand,  to  watch  the 
camp-fire,  to  brood  over  the  waves  and  the  stars,  the 
devotion  to  the  camp  leader,  the  passionate  friendships 
to  camp  comrades,  the  peculiar  tenderness  to  manly 
religious  impression  at  night  when  the  fire  bums  low  — 
these  seem  to  be  reversions  to  a  more  primitive  state 
and  opportunities  for  the  most  intimate  and  enduring 
and  uplifting  influence  upon  the  lives  of  boys.  And 
nothing  will  do  more  to  give  a  man  confidence  in  the 
goodness  that  underlies  a  boy  than  to  live  outdoors 
with  him  for  a  while.  It  is  a  stern  test  of  the  quality 
of  his  own  manhood,  and,  if  he  meet  it,  the  surest  bond 
for  a  lifelong  friendship.     The  boys'  camp  is  rapidly 

145 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

developing  into  an  institution  in  America.  The  school 
camps  provide  a  wholesome  summer  for  wealthy  boys, 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  camps  reach  many  of  the  middle  class, 
and  some'  street  boys'  clubs  help  the  poorer  boys  in 
this  way.  There  is  still  the  largest  room  for  private 
camps,  to  which  an  adult  leader  may  bring  a  few  boys 
of  his  church  or  club.  If  more  workers  with  boys 
knew  how  simple  an  affair  a  camp  is,  they  would  try  it, 
for  a  week  with  boys  under  a  tent  is  worth  more  than 
a  whole  winter  in  Sunday-school  or  a  club  room.  I 
have  repeatedly  taken  groups  of  boys  to  a  camping 
place  near  the  city  for  a  week  or  more  when  the  total 
cost  was  only  two  dollars  for  each  boy.  Practically  the 
only  danger,  as  it  is  also  the  chief  delight,  is  the  water, 
and  if  the  rowboats  be  carefully  examined  and  no  bath- 
ing is  allowed  except  when  all  go  in,  this  is  reduced  to 
a  minimum. 

In  this  connection  it  seems  necessary 
*^^  only  to  commend  highly  the  plan  of  the 

Stamp  Savings  Society  and  the  pass-book  system  of 
the  boys'  clubs. 

.  Believing  in  the  power  of  music  to 

soothe  the  savage  breast,  several  clubs 
have  organized  choruses.  Churches  organize  boy- 
choirs  as  much  to  refine  the  boys  as  to  help  the  church 
music.  Some  clubs  print  the  better  popular  ballads 
of  the  day,  mingled  with  patriotic  songs,  on  sheets  for 
singing  in  unison.  Contrast  the  sunset  hour  in  a 
college  town,  with  hundreds  of  boys  singing  on  the 
campus,  with  the  same  unmusical  or  uproarious  hour 
in  a  large  village  or  small  city,  and  you  will  see 
something  of  what  music  will  do. 

146 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

I  have  already  spoken  sufficiently  of 
collections,  of  vacation  schools,  of  sum- 
mer camps  and  of  winter  groups  for  nature  study.     I 
commend  the  Agassiz  Association  and  the  Chautauqua 
Junior  Naturalists. 

This  instinct  is  much  neglected.  It 
is  as  legitimate  as  any,  and  craves  ex- 
pression. Mr.  William  A.  Clark  speaks  of  "  the  boy's 
mind,  cursed  with  melodrama."  He  is  referring  to  the 
street  boy  and  his  interest  in  sensational  news,  prize 
fights  and  the  plays  of  the  South  End  playhouse. 
Some  substitute  for  these  evils  must  exist.  The  cha- 
rade, the  dialogue,  the  missionary  and  Sunday-school 
concert  and  the  desire  of  boys  and  girls  to  "  get  up  an 
entertainment,"  are  manifestations  of  the  same  instinct 
in  our  church  life.  In  this  age,  when  open  church 
opposition  to  the  theater  is  becoming  silent,  our  chil- 
dren will  be  kept  from  the  real  temptations  of  the  mod- 
ern theater  by  giving  them  their  own  opportunities  for 
expressing  this  instinct  for  personifying  character  and 
action.  In  adolescence  dramatics  are  helpful  in  enforc- 
ing unconsciousness  of  self,  accuracy  in  memory  and 
action  and  some  degree  of  grace  of  demeanor.  Some 
spontaneous  activities  of  children  seem  to  indicate  that, 
where  their  taste  is  unspoiled,  they  incline  toward  the 
portrayal  of  familiar  characters,  the  dramatizing  of 
stories  they  have  heard  and  to  a  hearty  enjoyment  of 
humor.  A  pantomime  of  Hiawatha,  the  acting  out  of 
some  boy's  Indian  story  or  an  Indian  legend,  animal 
plays,  "  The  Husking,"  "  The  District  School,"  drills 
of  various  sorts  and  dialogues  introducing  foreign  cus- 
toms and  costumes  would  all  seem  to  be  most  appro- 

147 


THE  BOY         PROBLEM 

priate  and  wholesome.     The  missionary  societies  have 

an  unrealized  opportunity  in  this  direction. 

„    .  ,  It   is   desirable,   when   children   are 

maturing,  that  they  should  be  brought 
together  under  adult  auspices  for  mutual  acquaintance 
and  development.  The  socials  should  be  small.  The 
children  should  come  in  sections,  if  there  are  too  many 
to  come  at  once.  There  should  be  one  head,  who  should 
have  a  definite  plan  for  the  entertainment  to  be  pro- 
vided, and  a  sufficient  body  of  adult  assistants.  The 
pleasure  should  be  spontaneous  and  much  of  it  pro- 
vided by  the  children  themselves,  but  it  should  be 
refining,  of  continuous  interest,  inclusive  of  all,  and 
governed  as  to  its  date  by  the  school  work  and  in  its 
length  by  the  bedtimes  of  the  children. 

Not  only  is  the  story  the  chief  way  of 

teaching  in  both  the  secular  and  the 
Sunday-school  until  the  child  is  well  along  in  adoles- 
cence, but  it  is  a  method  of  universal  interest.  It  was 
the  primitive  form  of  history  and  the  first  means  of 
perpetuating  crude  scientific  discovery  and  religious 
tradition.  It  is  the  material  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  charm  of  the  New.  It  is  a  perpetual  interpretation 
of  life.  Fairy  stories  not  only  appeal  to  but  are  the 
actual  translation  of  child-life,  which  is  fairy  life,  in  its 
wonder,  credulity  and  ignorance  of  boundaries  and 
limitations.  Stories  of  courage  and  adventure  also  re- 
flect that  era  of  hero-worship  and  out-of-doors  in  which 
the  adolescent  lives.  They  enlarge  the  knowledge  of 
life  and  are  for  a  time  the  only  method  of  making  a 
child  enter  into  sympathy  with  other  races  than  his 
own.    They  teach  expression  by  voice  and  pen  and 

148 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

dramatic  action.  They  lead  the  child  to  share.  They 
speak  the  truth  naturally,  because  they  show  actual 
moral  situations  without  arguing  or  moralizing.  They 
develop  both  feelings  and  will,  for  they  make  the  child 
wish  he  could  and  they  suggest  to  him  that  he  may. 

Miss  Vostrovsky  in  an  examination  of  children's  own 
stories  found  that  they  told  stories  about  children 
rather  than  older  persons  in  the  proportion  of  40  to  1  ; 
true  rather  than  imaginary  stories,  as  49  to  7;  and  of 
unusual  rather  than  ordinary  subjects,  as  45  to  11. 
She  also  gives  a  chart  of  the  elements  of  boys'  interest 
in  stories,  which  I  reduce  to  per  cents,  as  follows: 
action,  36;  name,  24;  appearance,  10;  possession,  7; 
speech,  5;  place,  5;  time,  3;  feeling,  2;  dress,  2;  esthetic 
details,  IJ;  sentiment,  1;  moral  qualities,  1;  mis- 
cellaneous, 2i. 

The  sources  of  good  stories  for  parent  or  teacher  are 
myths  and  fairy  stories  of  the  past,  legends,  historical 
stories,  Bible  stories,  stories  from  the  daily  press, 
stories  from  his  own  experience  and  fancy. 

Story-telling  is  not  so  hard  as  to  some  it  seems.  If 
one  will  remember  that  every  good  story  has  but  four 
elements  and  these  always  in  the  same  order,  namely, 
the  hero,  action,  suspense,  solution,  and  that  to  tell  a 
story  well  you  should  tell  it  as  if  you  were  standing  at 
a  window  seeing  its  events  transpire  and  as  if  your 
auditors  could  know  it  only  from  your  report,  you  can 
tell  a  good  and  even  a  great  story.  Continued  stories 
and  the  re-telling  of  favorites  are  happy  reliefs  to  those 
whose  imaginations  are  becoming  exhausted. 

Believing  that  the  boy  reproduces  successively  the 
ideals  of  the  race,  and  that  impression  even  by  stories 

149 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

tends  to  and  should  issue  in  expression  by  action, 
Professor  Burr  has  appUed  to  the  boys  in  the  federated 
clubs  conducted  by  students  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Training 
School  at  Springfield  a  graded  course  in  stories,  as 
follows : 

1.  Race  stories,  especially  Teutonic  myths,  legends 
and  folklore.  Stories  appealing  to  the  imagination  and 
illustrating  the  attempts  of  the  child  race  to  explain 
the  wonders  of  the  world  in  which  he  lives. 

2.  Stories  of  nature;  animal  and  plant  stories. 

3.  Stories  of  individual  prowess;  hero  tales,  —  Sam- 
son, Hercules,  etc.     Stories  of  early  inventions. 

4.  Stories  of  great  leaders  and  patriots.  Social 
heroes  from  Moses  to  Washington. 

5.  Stories  of  love;  altruism;  love  of  woman;  love  of 
country  and  home;  love  of  beauty,  truth  and  God. 

He  suggests  also  the  possibility  of  associating  with 
these  stories,  as  appropriate  means  of  expression, 
activities  as  follows: 

With  nature  stories,  myths  and  legends  would  be 
associated  tramps  in  the  woods  and  every  variety  of 
nature  study;  care  of  animals,  plants,  etc. 

With  stories  of  individual  prowess  would  be  asso- 
ciated the  individualistic  games,  athletic  and  gymnastic 
work  for  the  development  of  individual  strength  and 
ability;  also,  constructive  work  of  the  more  elementary 
type,  —  work  with  clay,  knife  work,  basket-weaving, 
etc. 

With  the  stories  of  great  leaders  and  patriots  would 
be  associated  games  which  involve  team  play,  fellow- 
ship, obedience  to  leader  and  subordination  of  self  to 
the  group. 

ISO 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

With  the  altruistic  stories  would  be  associated  altru- 
istic activities  adapted  to  boy  nature,  —  the  doing  of 
something  for  other  boys  less  fortunate. 

The  story,  not  the  homily,  is  with  children  the  su- 
preme teaching  agency  for  moral  impression.  The 
moral,  by  the  way,  is  better  not  at  the  end  of  the  story, 
but  in  sly  touches  in  the  middle  and  as  produced  by  the 
narrative  itself.  He  who  can  look  into  a  circle  of  chil- 
dren's shining  eyes  and  tell  a  good  tale  knows  one  of 
earth's  finest  luxuries.  Oh,  for  more  shamans,  minne- 
singers, troubadours,  bards,  jongleurs  or  Pied  Pipers! 
Miss  Caroline  M.  Hewins  has  made 

^*  "^^  the  following  careful  study  of  the  pro- 

gressive tastes  of  children's  literary  appetite,  which  I 
condense  from  The  Congregationalist  of  November  22, 
1902: 

"  The  likings  of  children  may  thus  be  summed  up:  — 

"  First.  Pictures  and  rhymes  in  broad  and  simple  outlines,  as 
primitive  and  elemental  as  the  stories  and  drawings  of  the  cave 
men. 

"  Second.  Poems  and  ballads,  rhythmical  and  full  of  action. 

"  Third.  Wonder  tales  and  also  stories  of  every-day  child 
life. 

"  Fourth.  Stories  of  heroes,  mythological  and  historical. 

"  Fifth.  Stories  of  adventure,  trial  and  suffering  that  end  well. 

"  Every  child  who  reads  at  all  first  enjoys  picture-books,  and 
his  taste  leads  him  to  prefer  pictures  in  fiat  color,  with  as  few 
lines  as  possible,  and  no  elaborate  shading  or  confusing  multi- 
phcity  of  detail.  The  bright  reds,  blues  and  yellows  in  Sunday 
papers  appeal  to  him.  Every  year  books  are  put  out  as  coarsely 
executed,  as  low  in  ideals,  as  the  front  pages  of  the  yellow  jour- 
nals. On  the  other  hand,  some  beautiful  artistic  work  has  been 
done  for  children  in  line  and  fiat  color. 

"  The  second  step  in  the  child's  enjoyment  of  books  is  when 
he  enters  into  the  comprehension  of  story-poems  longer  than 

101 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

Mother  Goose  rhymes.  A  good  standard  for  poetry  is  one  of 
the  older  collections,  like  '  Our  Children's  Songs/  published  by 
the  Harpers  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  Children  like  the 
rhythm  and  swing  of  verse  if  it  is  not  reflective  or  subjective,  and 
sometimes  feel  the  charm  of  melody  in  a  poem  which  they  do 
not  understand,  like  Gray's  '  Elegy,'  Macaulay's  '  Battle  of 
Ivry,'  or  Rossetti's  '  White  Ship.' 

"  The  next  step  is  prose  stories.  Every  child  delights  in  the 
old-fashioned  fairy  tales  if  they  are  told  in  the  old-fashioned 
way. 

"  At  the  time  when  children  enjoy  fairy  tales  they  like  stories 
of  boy  and  girl  life,  if  these  stories  are  told  in  a  straightforward 
manner,  with  a  great  deal  of  detail. 

"  Wonder  tales  lead  to  hero  tales,  and  a  child  begins  to  learn 
something  of  the  history  of  the  world  and  of  the  lives  of  great 
men.  He  likes  to  hear  about  Romulus  and  Remus,  King  Alfred 
and  George  Washington.  He  loves  to  read  of  the  perils  and 
privations  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  country,  of  Indians  and 
the  Revolution.  He  has  heard  in  school  of  knightly  ideals  and 
perhaps  belongs  to  a  Round  Table. 

"  A  child's  liking  fo^  biography  is  usually  an  acquired  taste, 
growing  slowly  out  of  the  stories  of  great  men  and  women  which 
are  told  in  school  as  a  means  of  awakening  an  interest  in  history. 
A  few  biographies  which  are  interesting  to  children  have  been 
written  in  response  to  a  demand,  and  are  published  by  educa- 
tional firms,  but  are  little  used  except  for  help  in  school  work. 
Biographies  as  well  illustrated  as  Boutet  de  Monvel's  *  Joan  of 
Arc,*  which  first  attracts  a  reader  by  its  pictures,  would  be  sure 
to  delight  children.  A  test  of  a  good  biography  is  its  clearness, 
simplicity  in  statement  of  facts  and  lack  of  theories. 

"  When  a  child  can  pick  up  an  unfamiliar  book  and  read  it 
easily,  he  is  ready  for  the  next  kind  of  literary  food.  He  begins 
to  ask  for  longer  stories,  tales  of  adventure,  accounts  of  battles 
and  hair-breadth  escapes.  This  is  a  dangerous  time,  when, 
unless  a  boy  has  the  best  tales,  he  grows  to  care  for  nothing  but 
poorly  written  stories  of  lads  who  leap  from  poverty  to  wealth, 
or  skip  all  the  ranks  from  private  to  major-general;  and  a  girl 
gravitates  to  sentimental  tales  of  children  who  take  care  of  the 

162 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

whole  familjr's  finances  and  love  affairs,  or  are  misunderstood 
by  cruel  mothers  and  aunts. 

"  Wholesomeness  in  modem  stories  and  adventures  that  are 
too  far  removed  from  a  child's  ordinary  experience  to  make  him 
think  of  emulating  them  are  the  characteristics  that  should  be 
sought  for  in  choosing  books  for  boys  and  girls  from  the  years  that 
they  can  read  independently  up  to  the  time  when  naturally  and 
unconsciously  they  set  sail  on  the  great  sea  of  grown-up  books. 
There  is  a  stage  when  they  like  boarding-school  stories,  and 
the  world  is  full  of  overdrawn  tales  of  school  life.  A  good 
touchstone  for  them  is  a  series  like  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps* 

*  Gypsy '  or  Susan  Coolidge's  Katy  Books,  which  girls  have 
enjoyed  for  thirty  years,  or  Harriet  Martineau's  '  Crofton  Boys.' 
In  adventure  *  Robin  Hood  *  is  a  good  standard,  and  so  is  the 

*  Swiss  Family  Robinson,'  with  its  always  fresh  contrivances  and 
makeshifts  tending  towards  simplicity  of  li\'ing. 

"  The  demand  for  out-of-door  books  indicates  the  growth  of 
a  healthy  taste.  There  is  no  danger  that  such  books  will  be 
made  too  easy  for  children.  A  child  of  five  soon  gets  the  habit 
of  going  to  a  bird-book  or  an  insect-book  or  a  flower-book  to 
identify  something  that  he  has  seen,  and  learns  to  read  about  it  if 
he  is  not  expected  to  read  long  at  a  time.  Since  the  publica- 
tion of  '  Wild  Animals  I  Have  Known,'  there  has  been  a  steady 
demand  for  stories  of  animals.  Some  of  them  are  overdrawn, 
some  too  tragic  for  children,  but  the  tendency  of  most  is  in 
favor  of  kindness  and  compassion  towards  our  four-footed 
brothers. 

"  Boys  and  girls  like  books  that  give  them  the  rules  of  out- 
door sports,  suggest  games  and  charades  for  indoor  evenings, 
teach  them  riddles  and  show  them  how  to  use  their  hands.  The 
increase  of  interest  in  athletics,  the  teaching  of  basketry  and 
carpentry  in  schools  and  the  many  uses  which  may  be  made  of 
a  course  in  manual  training  have  opened  the  way  for  new  books 
of  occupations,  games  and  sports." 

Mr.  Alan  Abbott,  writing  of  the  requirements  for 
college  entrance,  says: 

"  Let  us  now  turn  to  the  books  that  arouse  a  boy's  enthu- 
153 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

siasm:  Scott,  Cooper,  Shakespeare,  Coleridge  head  the  list,  — 
romanticists  all,  —  men  who  stood  for  the  enlargement  of  the 
imagination,  men  of  passion,  of  feeling.  The  characteristic 
quaUty  of  those  men  is  that  they  are  idealists  rather  than  realists; 
instead  of  exciting  curiosity  for  the  familiar,  they  lead  us 
far  into  the  past,  into  the  mind  world,  into  the  realms  of  the 
fancy. 

"  The  essential  conditions  as  shown  in  these  pages  I  may 
sum  up  as  follows :  —  To  be  interesting  to  a  schoolboy  a  book 
must  not  begin  with  copious  references  and  allusions,  presup- 
posing wide  acquaintance  with  literature  or  history.  It  must 
not  be  critical,  destructive  and  massive,  but  constructive  or 
stimulating.  It  must  be  first  hand;  not  a  translation  in  the 
terms  of  an  age  out  of  sympathy  with  the  original,  for  a  boy 
cannot  disentangle  the  works  of  two  minds  upon  each  other. 
It  must  be  interesting  not  primarily  for  its  form,  for  a  boy  will 
never  admire  the  form  for  its  own  sake.  And  I  suppose  it 
should  be  romantic,  suggestive  of  ideals  and  achievements, 
for  the  normal  boy  in  the  high-school  age  is  passing  through  his 
own  romantic  period,  and  it  is  natural  to  set  before  him  ideals 
that  are  really  worthy." 

The  fact  that  what  a  boy  is  required  to  read  in  school 
is  the  smallest  part  of  what  he  actually  does  read  stirs 
Dr.  E.  A.  Fitzpatrick  to  the  following  strong  state- 
ment: 

"The  large  amount  of  reading  done  by  children  outside  of 
school,  especially  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  the  in- 
equality of  reading  done  by  pupils  in  the  same  classes,  the  differ- 
ence between  the  reading  of  boys  and  girls,  the  difference  in 
kind  of  reading  found  interesting  at  different  ages,  the  extraor- 
dinary influence  of  school  association  and  school  work  upon  the 
reading  of  pupils  and  the  effect  that  extensive  reading  has  upon 
the  work  of  the  school,  all  emphasize  in  the  strongest  degree  the 
importance  of  teachers  and  superintendents  giving  a  large 
amount  of  attention  to  this  question.  No  question  of  courses 
of  study  in  school  or  methods  has  half  the  significance  in  the 

154 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

mental  and  moral  development  of  children  that  the  question 
of  children's  reading  outside  of  school  has." 

It  may  be  the  current  saying  that  to-day  "  only 
women  read  books;  men  read  newspapers,"  moved  Mr. 
D.  C.  Heath  to  make  this  appeal  for  "  literary  wholes  ": 

"  The  boy  should  early  begin  to  read  books  in  their  entirety, 
*  books,'  as  Professor  Burton  says,  *  with  their  heads  on  and 
standing  on  both  feet.'  The  constant  reading  of  extracts,  of 
scraps,  of  snippets,  the  magazine  and  newspaper  habit,  destroy 
the  power  of  concentration  and  weaken  the  mental  grasp,  and 
should  be  discouraged  from  the  very  outset.  Therefore  let  us 
see  that  our  boys  have  complete  books  put  before  them." 

A  mother,  writing  in  The  Outlook  from  her  own  ex- 
perience, speaks  of  the  reading  mania  which  many  boys 
have  between  twelve  and  fourteen  and  then  gives  her 
advice  in  the  premises: 

"  Harriet  Martineau,  with  her  wise  counsel,  is  balm  to  my 
soul  when  she  tells  us  we  must  not  be  annoyed  with  the  excess 
of  the  propensity  for  much  and  rapid  reading,  nor  proud  of  the 
child  who  has  it.  It  is  no  sign  yet  of  a  superiority  in  so  young 
a  child,  much  less  in  that  wisdom  which  in  adults  is  commonly 
supposed  to  arise  from  large  book-knowledge.  It  is  simply  an 
appetite  for  that  expression  of  ideas  and  images  which  show 
at  this  season,  but  are  laid  in  for  the  exercise  of  the  higher 
faculties  which  have  yet  to  come  into  use.  The  parent's  main 
question  during  this  process  is  to  look  to  the  quality  of  the  books 
read;  I  mean,  merely  see  that  the  child  has  the  freest  access 
to  those  of  the  best  quaUty.  The  child's  own  mind  is  a  truer 
judge  in  this  case  than  the  parent's  suppositions.  Let  but 
noble  books  be  on  the  shelves  and  the  child  will  get  nothing 
but  good." 

Mr.  Julian  Hawthorne  writes  a  rather  iconoclastic 
article  regarding  the  ordinary  "  juvenile  "  or  child's 
magazine,  but  closes  with  this  sensible  advice: 

155 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

"  Give  it  anjrthing  except  what  is  morbid,  sentimental,  doc- 
trinal, controversial  —  in  a  word,  false  or  transient.  Let  it  learn 
by  heart  all  the  great  poetry  up  to  Tennyson.  And  always 
remember  that  what  it  does  not  understand,  or  misunderstands, 
is  likely  to  be  of  more  final  value  to  it  than  anything  that 
it  does  understand,  for  reasons  which  you  may  understand  if 
you  will  take  the  trouble  to  think;  meanwhile  you  may  take  it 
for  granted.  Give  your  child  at  home  a  healthy,  wholesome, 
natural  Ufe  and  keep  away  from  it  corrupt  companions  of  its 
own  age;  no  others  and  nothing  else  can  injure  it,  save  in  so  far 
as  the  seeds  of  injury  are  already  innate  in  it.  It  will  not  be 
an  angel  on  earthj   but  it  will  be  itself." 

The^e  studies  show  how  directly  though  blindly  the 
boy  feels  his  way,  as  he  develops,  past  all  that  is  intro- 
spective, and,  regardless  of  mere  form  and  style,  to  the 
literature  of  romance,  feeling,  life.  He  grows  from  the 
merely  imaginative  unto  the  heroic  as  his  own  nature 
emerges  from  the  fairyland  of  infancy  to  the  days  of 
achievement.  And  what  he  reads  begins  to  develop 
him  not  only  individually  but  socially  as,  with  but  little 
of  the  perspective  of  history,  historical  fiction  makes 
him,  nevertheless,  something  of  a  world  citizen. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  adults  and  boys  read 
for  different  reasons.  The  adult  reads  for  the  study  of 
character  and  of  life.  The  boy  reads  for  the  sake  of  a 
thrilling  sensation  and  for  the  purpose  of  identifying 
himself  in  imagination  with  his  hero.  Books,  there- 
fore, have  one  mission  for  children  and  another  for 
adult  years.  To  childhood  they  furnish  excitement, 
ideals,  encouragement,  outlooks,  materials.  They  give 
to  the  adult  refreshment,  food  for  rumination  and  the 
corroboration  of  personal  thought  and  experience. 
Books  that  perform  their  mission  to  boys  must  be  like 

166 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

the  men  whom  boys  admire.  They  need  not  have 
grace  or  style,  but  they  must  be  strong,  direct,  heroic, 
sincere,  simple  and  tender-hearted. 

The  practical  question  which  the  parent  and  teacher 
face  is  how  to  protect  the  boy  from  unworthy  reading 
matter.  "  Shall  I  tell  you  how  to  prevent  a  boy  read- 
ing dime  novels?  "  said  a  science  teacher  to  me  one 
day.  "  Teach  dime  novels  the  way  you  do  college 
entrance  English."  There  was  much  truth  in  the 
sarcasm.  Much  of  the  analysis  of  the  English  classics 
done  in  school  creates  only  a  permanent  distaste  for 
them.  More  positive  methods  must  be  used.  Put 
only  the  best  within  your  boy's  reach.  Introduce  it  to 
him  by  telling  him  stories  from  it,  by  reading  it  to  him. 
Do  not  hold  up  too  high  a  level.  If  he  won't  read 
Scott,  give  him  Stevenson.  If  he  doesn't  like  Steven- 
son, give  him  Alger.  I  am  not  so  sure  that  I  would 
absolutely  prohibit  all  nickel  novels.  Certain  series  are 
clean,  patriotic  and  to  a  mild  degree  informing.  Their 
fault  is  that  they  are  highly  colored,  but  they  appeal 
to  a  highly  colored  age.  If  while  the  boy  is  buying 
these  out  of  his  own  money  you  are  steadily  present- 
ing him  with  choicer  books,  he  will  soon  get  over  this 
literary  measles. 

Introduce  as  many  boys  as  possible  to  the  public 
library,  for  many  of  our  libraries  by  story  hours, 
attractive  bulletins  and  attentive  custodians  are  woo- 
ing the  young  into  ways  of  pleasantness  that  are  also 
paths  of  peace. 

I  hardly  need  add  that  my  opinion  of  the  Sunday- 
school  library  may  be  summed  up  in  a  bright  saying 
of  another,  that  "  one  should  never jdo  on  Sunday^any-_ 

167 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

thing  that  is  too  stupid_.to  do  on  Monday  nor  do  on 
Monday  anything  that  is  ._too  wicked  to  do  on 
Sunday." 

I  need  not  speak  of  the  many  uses 
of  the  Perry  Pictures,  the  Elson  Prints, 
etc.,  in  creating  an  interest  in  art,  history,  collecting, 
etc.  To  require  a  group  to  invent  a  story  to  fit  a 
picture  is  good  drill  for  the  imagination.  I  have  found 
three  pictures  of  Holman  Hunt's  especially  helpful  in 
the  religious  instruction  of  adolescents.  There  is 
something  in  their  opulence  of  detail  and  mystic  beauty 
which  makes  them  singularly  effective.  They  may  be 
used  for  impressing  the  solemn  lesson  of  the  importance 
of  adolescence  as  the  time  of  choice  and  opportunity. 
First,  I  use  "  The  Child  in  the  Temple."  I  point  out 
the  many  details :  the  inscription  on  the  door,  the  doves, 
the  rejected  stone  in  the  court,  the  blind  beggar,  the 
lamplighter,  the  babe  brought  to  circumcision.  Then 
the  characters  appear:  the  doctors  with  their  scrolls  and 
phylacteries, —  one  is  blind, —  Mary  with  her  look  of 
amazement  and  love,  Joseph  with  his  protecting  hand 
and  the  boys  in  the  picture,  —  the  musicians,  the  slave 
and  the  boy  Jesus.  It  is  his  hour  of  awakening  to 
life's  meaning,  God's  will  and  his  hour  of  choice.  I  use 
the  "  Light  of  the  World  "  to  lead  to  the  thought  of 
the  life-door  at  which  the  Christ  knocks,  which  can  he 
opened  only  from  within.  And  "  The  Shadow  of  the 
Cross  "  suggests  the  manliness  of  the  young  Christ  and 
his  choice  of  the  cross  rather  than  the  jewels  over  which 
his  mother  lingers. 

I  have  spoken  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  use  of  stereo- 
graphs to  give  reality  to  the  Bible. 

158 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

The  true  leader  will  be  often  Socratic. 
yues  ons  ^^  ^.jj  ^^^  furnish  categorical   cate- 

chetical answers,  but,  finding  that  the  one  thing  human- 
ity and  especially  child-humanity  is  unwilling  to  do  is 
to  think,  he  will  constantly  in  private  and  in  public 
suggest  haunting  and  leading  questions  of  ideal  and 
practical  ethics  which  must  and  will  be  answered. 

I  believe  that  sex-perversions  are  the 
Insta-uction  most   common,   subtle   and   dangerous 

foes  that  threaten  our  American  life. 
Intemperance  is  frightful,  but  it  is.  a  perpetual  object 
of  attacks,  some  of  which  are  successful.  The  appetite 
which  excites  it  is  unnatural  and  has  to  be  acquired. 
The  sex-appetite  is  universal,  it  partakes  of  the  ex- 
treme selfishness  of  a  most  selfish  period  and  its  sins 
are  so  hidden,  so  general  and  reach  such  personal  and 
intimate  relations  that  it  is  difficult  to  crusade  against 
them.  These  perversions  usually  have  their  root  and 
acquire  their  dominion  in  adolescence,  when  passion  is 
most  active,  ignorance  most  great  and  self-control  most 
weak. 

The  topic  has  been  handled  with  so  much  senti- 
mentality, unwholesomeness,  quackery  and  downright 
deviltry  that  I  will  make  a  strenuous  effort  to  treat  it 
with  sober  common  sense.  The  three  sex-temptations 
to  which  boys  are  subject  are,  I  take  it,  impure  thoughts 
and  conversation,  self-abuse  and  fornication.  The  first 
temptation  is  the  result  of  knowledge  of  sex  matters 
gained  from  impure  and  imperfect  sources  and  is  stim- 
ulated by  a  desire  to  complete  this  knowledge,  by  the 
impression  that  such  knowledge  is  esoteric  and  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  sort  of  stolen  sweets.     An  analysis  of  the 

159 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

secret  reading  of  the  young  indicated  that  64  per  cent 
of  it  was  an  endeavor  to  secure  information  on  this 
subject.  This  temptation  is  to  be^met  in  the  home  by- 
stripping  the  subject  of  a  mystery  which  it  does  not 
possess,  by  reveaUng  frankly  and  simply,  as  curiosity 
arises,  the  facts  of  sex  as  a  part  of  general  physiology, 
and  by  such  an  emphasis  upon  the  holiness  of  the  func- 
tion, the  sacrifices  of  maternity  and  the  necessity  of  a 
sound  body  as  the  antecedent  of  future  parenthood  as 
shall  give  the  moral  cleanness  and  the  ideals  to  lift  the 
child  above  brooding,  unenlightened,  morbid  thoughts 
and  passion-feeding  conversation.  Some  educational 
experiments  that  have  been  made  indicate  that  it  is 
possible  to  approach  the  sex-structure  of  man  precisely 
as  the  student  does  the  rest  of  human  physiology,  in  a 
most  wholesome  way  through  nature  study  and  biology. 
The  effect,  even  in  mixed  classes,  has  been  to  uplift  and 
purify  the  minds  of  the  children. 

The  matter  of  self-abuse  is  to  be  dealt  with  physio- 
logically also,  a  fair  statement  of  its  effect  upon  the 
nerves,  endurance  and  energy  of  the  growing  boy  ex- 
plained, and  contempt  expressed  for  it  as  a  nasty  habit 
rather  than  the  implication  that  it  is  physically  or 
spiritually  damning.  I  think  we  may  as  well  face  the 
fact  that  the  practise  is,  for  at  least  a  short  period  in 
life,  well-nigh  universal.  To  teach  physical  horrors 
which  may  not  follow  is  not  to  deter  those  to  whom 
they  do  not  follow  and  is  to  put  others  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  quack  practitioner,  while  to  preach  that  this 
vice  is  the  unpardonable  sin  is  to  dishearten  those  who 
struggle  against  it  in  vain,  but  who  may,  if  they  are 
dealt  with  indirectly,  outgrow  it  or  be  weaned  away 

160 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

from  it.  This  habit  is  much  a  matter  of  nutrition, 
clothing,  hygiene,  association  and  physical  exercise. 

Fornication  when  it  occurs  with  boys  may  be  the  re- 
sult of  an  abnormal  sexual  nature,  but  it  is  more  apt 
to  be  the  result  of  information  gained  surreptitiously 
and  curiosity  unduly  aroused  and  of  evil  companion- 
ship or  unusual  temptation.  It  is  important  to  con- 
tradict the  impression  given  by  much  of  our  literature 
that  this  sin  is  romantic  and  semi-heroic,  and  to  show 
its  essential  cruelty,  selfishness  and  beastliness. 

The  method  of  treatment  for  all  these  evils  is,  in 
general,  to  delay  and  temper  sexuality  by  plain  food, 
early  rising,  thorough  bathing,  a  watchful  care  of  read- 
ing, companionship  and  causes  of  excitement,  plenty 
of  exercise  and  the  full  occupation  of  time.  The  close 
and  mysterious  connection  between  the  rise  of  the 
religious  and  the  sexual  instincts  makes  it  seem  pos- 
sible to  make  one  govern  the  other.  It  is  upon  these 
two  matters,  which  come  so  near  to  the  soul,  that  one 
can  draw  closest  to  a  boy's  life.  Ideals  are,  I  believe, 
the  final  and  supreme  safeguard  of  purity.  I  agree 
with  Prof.  H.  M.  Burr  that  "  the  possession  of  high 
ideals  of  bodily  strength,  of  the  essential  elements  of 
strong  manhood  and  a  high  ideal  of  woman  "  are  the 
things  that  hold  when  all  else  fails. 

The  place  for  doing  this  work  is  the  home.  It  is 
strange  that  parents  should  be  willing  that  stable-boys, 
quacks  and  villains  should  become  the  instructors  and 
guides  in  those  matters  which  have  so  much  to  do  with 
personal  purity,  the  morality  of  the  commonwealth  and 
the  future  of  the  race. 

Where  the  parents  are  not  doing  their  duty  it  must 

161 


\ 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

be  done  by  others.  But  when  others  take  this  up  the 
best  way  to  use  first  is  to  try  to  persuade  fathers  to 
perform  their  tasks.  "  Purity  talks  "  should  be  given 
to  fathers  rather  than  to  boys.  Books  may  be  sug- 
gested to  fathers  for  wise  information.  A  few  are  com- 
mended in  the  BibUography.  As  I  have  intimated,  it 
may  be  that  the  schools  will  soon  do  something.  I 
have  a  wholesome  distrust  of  all  reformers  who  make 
this  subject  a  specialty.  There  seems  to  be  something 
corrupting  to  the  imagination  of  every  one  who  makes 
it,  even  with  the  best  intention,  a  hobby.  They  soon 
become  morbid  or  unwholesome  in  thought.  The 
family  physician,  who  does  not  make  it  a  specialty, 
is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  man  to  ask  to  take  it  up  in 
individual  cases. 

If  boys  must  be  instructed  by  anybody  outside  their 
home  they  should  be  dealt  with  individually  and  by 
conversation.  No  book  has  been  written  which  is 
quite  suitable  to  put  in  a  boy's  hand.  If  it  tells  too 
little  it  will  arouse  his  curiosity.  If  it  tells  too  much 
it  will  inflame  his  imagination.  The  effort  is  to  be  not 
to  make  him  think  about  this  subject,  but  to  satisfy 
his  legitimate  curiosity  and  get  him  to  thinking  about 
other  things. 

Why  does  not  some  physician  write  three  short 
pamphlets  on  special  physiology  for  this  purpose,  one 
for  the  young  boy,  one  for  the  adolescent  and  one  for 
the  young  man  contemplating  marriage?  He  could 
put  all  the  facts  that  need  to  be  known  and  all  that 
needs  to  be  said  in  each  one  on  eight  pages  the  size  of 
this  one. 

This  is  why  I  object  to  "  purity  talks  "  to  boys.    The 

162 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

subject  is  for  them  not  social  but  individual.  They 
are  not  to  go  out  and  exchange  words  about  it  and 
brood  over  it.  The  strongest  force  for  purity  in  the 
boys'  club  is  that  it  is  a  time-filler  and  energy-expender 
for  boys  and  a  means  of  transforming  an  abnormal 
appetite  into  healthful  physical  exercise.  The  thing 
which  we  want  to  get  our  boys  to  do  is  to  realize  that 
it  is  a  noble  and  knightly  thing,  as  well  as  a  necessity 
to  many,  as  Prof.  Burt  G.  Wilder  has  said,  **  to  go  into 
training  "  for  a  manly  struggle  with  the  sensual  side 
of  his  nature. 

An  encouraging  illustration  of  the  way  this  wiser 
treatment  works  is  seen  in  its  results  at  the  Good  Will 
Home  for  Boys  in  Maine.  As  each  boy  enters  the 
school  he  is  during  some  informal  conversation  in- 
formed by  the  principal  regarding  the  wise  regulation 
of  his  body  with  especial  reference  to  the  dangers  of 
puberty.  No  further  reference  is  ever  made  to  the 
matter,  unless  the  boy  makes  it  himself,  as  he  often 
does,  when  he  comes  across  some  alarming  bit  of  mis- 
information, but  among  all  the  teachers  and  in  all  the 
life  of  the  school  it  is  insisted  that  the  sexual  organs 
are  simply  a  commonplace  and  not  a  shameful  or  mys- 
terious portion  of  the  human  body.  Before  the  close 
of  his  course  each  boy  receives  in  the  same  way  from 
the  principal  such  information  as  will  help  him  meet 
further  temptation  and  prepare  him  for  married  life. 
The  result  is  this:  young  men  who  have  associated 
with  these  boys  most  intimately  for  a  considerable 
period  during  the  summer  find  that  the  conversation 
of  all  is  free  from  obscenity,  and  that  the  moral  life  of 
the  school  is  pure. 

163 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

I  am  glad  to  note  that  the  boys'  departments  of 
our  Christian  Associations  and  many  religious  workers 
with  boys  are  taking  this  up,  but  I  wish  they  would 
first  take  lessons  from  Mr.  Hinckley  in  the  art  of  how 
to  do  it. 

There  are  many  other  things  which  can  be  used  to 
help  boys.  The  use  of  humor,  a  trait  which  is  uni- 
versal in  boyhood,  will  not  be  forgotten.  What  we 
call  noisiness,  teasing,  hoodlumism,  practical  joking 
and  even  irreverence  is  what  some  one  styles  "  joint 
humor."  Remembering  that  this  is  so,  the  best  way  to 
attack  those  nuisances  is  by  the  expression  of  humor  in 
better  ways.  Conundrums,  puzzles,  "  sells,"  "  yarns  *' 
and  newspaper  jokes  are  good  bait  for  boys,  who  are 
usually  as  well  provided  as  their  leader  with  material 
and  quite  as  quick  to  take  advantage  of  their  oppor- 
tunity. The  illustrating  of  the  personal  habits  of  clean- 
liness, temperance,  reverence,  good  taste,  by  example, 
is  a  constant  privilege.  Anything  of  the  other  sort 
in  a  leader  is  a  complete  disqualification.  To  en- 
courage a  boy  to  have  a  pet  of  some  kind  is  far  better 
than  to  get  him  to  join  a  society  for  rescuing  stray 
cats  and  then  bragging  about  it.  Indeed,  doing  for 
others  is  the  strongest  ethical  force  which  the  boy 
can  feel.  We  are  told  truly  that  "  girls  are  trained 
to  give  up,  boys  to  demand."  Often  the  boys'  club 
exaggerates  this  tendency.  Talks  on  practical  ques- 
tions by  men  whom  the  boys  may  justly  admire  are 
also  an  ethical  influence  of  great  importance.  The 
introduction  of  recognitions  and  special  privileges 
will  have  a  stimulating  effect,  if  they  are  made  acces- 
sible to  a  fair  grade  of  effort  rather  than  exclusive  to  a 

164 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

first  and  second.    The  last  method  which  I  name  is  the 
most  important. 

The  three  curses  of  humanitarian 
work  are  utilitarianism,  uniformity  and 
numbers.  And  the  greatest  of  these  is  numbers.  It 
takes  perpetual  vigilance  to  do  church  or  social  work 
without  becoming  a  slave  to  the  addition  table.  All 
work  for  men  that  amounts  to  anything  is  in  the  end 
the  influence  of  personality  on  personality.  So  in  boys' 
work  we  have  two  things  of  importance  to  consider: 
the  personality  of  the  leader  and  that  of  the  boy.  Mr. 
Mason  suggests  as  the  easier  qualifications  for  such  a 
leader  that  "  he  must  necessarily  have  the  magnetism 
of  Moses,  the  patience  of  Job  and  the  wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon." It  would  be  unfortunate  to  place  the  standard 
so  high  that  everybody  would  shrink  from  the  work. 
The  boy  is  influenced  by  his  leader  in  two  ways: 
through  his  imitativeness  and  through  his  affections. 
He  idealizes  his  leader  and  tries  to  become  like  him. 
"  Teaching  is  really  a  matter  of  contagion  rather  than 
of  instruction."  His  leader  must  therefore  be  a  person 
of  character  and  self-control.  He  loves  his  leader  and 
wants  to  do  for  him.  His  leader  must  be  a  person  of 
ideals,  who  can  offer  him  good  and  true  things 
to  do. 

The  personality  of  the  boy  must  never  be  forgotten. 
We  must  forget  our  addition  table  and  stop  seeing  our 
boj^s  as  flocks.  The  most  important  thing  any  one 
can  do  for  a  boy  is  to  love  him.  We  must  know  each 
one  in  his  school,  his  home,  his  playing  and  gathering 
places  as  well  as  at  the  club  or  our  own  home.  There 
are  so  many  different  kinds  of  boy  under  one  hat, 

166 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

and  boys  differ  so  much  in  their  individual  interests, 
and  the  interests  of  one  boy  change  so  often,  that 
every  leader  ought  to  keep  an  individual ''  case  book  " 
and  revise  it  every  night  before  he  goes  to  bed. 

There  is  one  unpleasant  and  unwholesome  trait  in 
boys  that  is  likely  to  be  fostered  in  almost  any  organ- 
ized work  with  them  in  which  self-government  is  a 
feature.  That  trait  is  self-complacency.  In  giving 
boys  encouragement  to  believe  that  they  can  be  men 
it  is  not  easy  to  avoid  letting  them  get  conceited.  Here 
comes  the  deeper  danger  of  externalism.  Boys  and 
adults  are  willing  to  legislate  about  themselves  and 
others  in  all  sorts  of  ingenious  ways  so  long  as  the 
legislation  does  not  touch  their  own  wishes  and  con- 
duct. It  is  quite  easy  for  a  boy  to  become  very  promi- 
nent and  popular  in  a  boy  democracy  and  remain  quite 
untouched  inside,  rotten  at  heart.  Here,  I  believe,  is 
the  moral  weakness  of  all  "  junior  republics."  Per- 
sonal power  is  the  only  antidote.  The  personal  power 
of  the  leader  must  be  constantly  and  vigilantly  exerted 
to  persuade  each  boy  that  "  self-government  "  means 
what  it  says,  not  legislation  about  one's  self  or  others, 
but  the  government  of  self.  The  boy's  personality 
must  be  reached  in  the  recesses  where  it  hides  and 
exposed,  if  need  be,  until  he  becomes  willing  to  take 
up  the  task  of  being  clean  within. 

In  every  group  of  boys  there  is  at  least  one  third  who 
cannot  be  reached  by  any  group  method.  They  may 
be  unsocial,  they  do  not  like  what  other  boys  care  for, 
they  have  not  the  leisure  or  the  permission  to  join  a 
club.  They  are  worth  just  as  much  as  the  rest.  These 
must  be  won  solely  by  personal  approach. 

160 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

The  way  to  help  boys  by  the  methods 
iitTim«ry  ^^  hsive  mentioned,  as  Lancaster  says, 

is  to  "  inspire  enthusiastic  activity."  "  You  can  do 
anything  vrith  boys.  You  can  do  nothing  for  boys." 
**  Oh,"  says  one,  "  you  give  the  boys  something  easy 
all  the  time."  The  things  that  inspire  enthusiastic 
activity  in  a  boy  are  not  easy  things.  Is  baseball  easy? 
Is  football  easy?  Is  swimming  a  mile  easy?  Are  wood- 
work or  parallel  bars  or  punching-bags  easy?  Interest 
is  not  ease,  but  it  makes  things  easy.  In  that  marvelous 
study  in  the  New  Testament,  of  Jesus  and  the  Rich 
Young  Man,  we  have  a  study  of  Jesus  and  adolescence, 
and  the  appeal  that  the  Master  made  which  aroused 
that  slothful  idler  almost  out  of  a  lifetime  of 
languor,  was  an  appeal  to  the  difficult,  with  this  in- 
spiration, his  own  passionately  declared  love  for  him. 

We  should  use  as  many  methods  as  we  can  thor- 
oughly, letting  each  get  its  effect  and  coordinating  also, 
so  as  to  feed  the  boy  with  as  many  interests  as  possible. 
We  cannot  tell  which  one  may  determine  his  life-work 
or  mold  his  character.  It  is  inspiring  to  remember 
that  the  little  group  club  of  boys  is  often  a  lad's  first 
entrance  to  the  social  institutions  of  his  race  and  that 
in  the  self-originating  exercises  of  the  boys'  club  one 
may  do  what  the  school  does  not  accomplish,  —  help 
the  boy  to  decide  what  he  shall  be. 

"  Education,"  says  Mr.  Lee,  "  is  not  a  matter  of 
teaching  this  or  that,  but  of  kindling  the  spiritual  life." 
That  kindled,  no  matter  how  or  where,  you  have  fos- 
tered the  flame  of  a  dynamic  that  shall  impel  all  the 
later  activities. 

We  should  give  each  boy  something  to  know,  some- 

167 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

thing  to  love  and  something  to  do.  That  is,  we  must 
train  his  mind,  his  heart  and  his  hand,  and  while  doing 
these  three  we  train  his  will. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  boys  most  in  need  of  suc- 
cor are  of  two  classes,  the  children  of  the  rich  and  the 
children  of  the  very  poor.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  life 
and  activities  of  the  common  people  are  the  sound  core 
of  the  nation's  strength.  The  boys  of  the  rich  are 
debauched  by  luxury  and  the  free  use  of  money.  They 
suffer  most  of  all  for  lack  of  opportunities  for  general 
and  wholesome  social  fellowships.  The  boys  of  the 
very  poor  are  degenerated  by  the  opposite  causes,  lack 
of  nutrition,  instruction  and  good  example.  Another 
fact  which  shapes  the  whole  problem  is  that  most  boys 
are  living  to-day  in  what  is  for  them  an  artificial  en- 
vironment. They  live  in  cities.  No  one  who  has  dealt 
with  boys  successively  in  rural  regions,  large  towns 
and  the  city  could  have  failed  to  notice  how  much  less 
potent  in  grasp,  attention  and  efficiency  are  city  boys, 
living  between  walls  and  pavements  and  among  a 
thousand  distractions  and  allurements,  than  country 
boys,  with  their  freedom,  contact  with  nature  and  wild 
life  and  opportunity  for  origination  in  work  and  play 
in  woodland,  pasture  and  carpenter  shop  in  the  barn. 

The  problem  is  by  no  means,  then,  a  missionary  one, 
in  the  sense  that  it  consists  in  providing  clubs  for  slum 
boys  alone.  The  extravagances,  immorality,  intem- 
perance and  general  good-for-nothingness  of  wealthy 
boys  are  often  an  alarming  factor  in  our  suburban  life. 

The  difficulty  of  restoring  natural  conditions  among 
unnatural  surrgundings  is  tremendous.  It  means  the 
artificial  creation  of  a  country  atmosphere.     The  in- 

168 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

stitutions  and  instrumentalities  which  are  striving  to 
do  this  by  their  shops  and  playrooms  and  their  vaca- 
tion philanthropies  are,  though  informally,  among  the 
great  benevolences  and  educational  institutes  of  the 
city,  and  need  and  demand  a  fuller  recognition  and  a 
heartier  support  by  consecration  of  money  and  life. 

The  needs  and  possibilities  of  work  with  adolescents 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated.  One  third  of  life,  "  the 
submerged  third,"  as  Dr.  Stanley  Hall  calls  it,  is  in  the 
adolescent  period.  One  third  of  the  people  in  America 
are  adolescents.  Three  millions  of  the  human  beings 
in  America  are  boys  between  twelve  and  sixteen  years 
of  age.  The  so-called  heathen  peoples  are,  whatever 
their  age,  all  in  the  adolescent  period  of  life.  We  send 
missionaries  to  inculcate  among  these  distant  peoples 
morals  and  religion  which  we  seem  to  think  our  own 
little  folks  can  possess  by  some  innate  providential 
instinct.  Work  among  men  has  been  emphasized  as 
of  prime  importance  but  as  compared  with  work 
among  boys  it  is  as  salvage  to  salvation. 

The  attention  of  the  Church  during  the  last  twenty 
years  has  so  turned  toward  the  young  that  it  takes  no 
prophet  to  foretell  that  this  is  to  be  the  central  work 
of  the  Church  in  the  new  century.  Jesus,  who  ap- 
peared before  the  world  at  the  beginning  of  his  adoles- 
cence and  left  it  at  its  close,  set  the  child  in  the  midst 
and  said,  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The 
psychologist  and  the  Christian  are  both  listening  to  this 
word  of  the  Master.  "  Save  the  world  in  adolescence  " 
will  be  the  new  war-cry  of  evangelism. 

In  the  development  of  the  boys*  department  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  in  the  growth  of  the  big  city  boys' 

169 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

clubs,  in  the  founding  of  institutions  of  religious  peda- 
gogy and  the  multiplication  of  classes  in  child-study 
and  teaching  methods,  in  the  opening  of  a  new  pro- 
fession, that  of  the  teaching  ministry,  in  lay  work  in 
the  Church,  we  have  abundant  intimations  that  the 
field  of  work  for  boys  is  soon  to  offer  many  oppor- 
tunities for  many  men's  life-work.  In  the  smaller 
groups  of  those  engaged  in  social  service,  in  the 
Sunday-school  and  the  other  forms  of  church  nurture, 
the  harvest  is  already  white  for  splendid  consecrations 
of  volunteer  helpers. 

This  volunteer  movement  will  be  as  truly  one  for 
the  devotion  of  young  people  as  the  famous  student 
movement  which  was  born  at  Northfield  in  1886,  and 
it  will  be  both  for  home  and  foreign  work.  Foreign 
missionary  work,  already  conducted  with  a  breadth 
and  scope  which  is  a  lesson  to  home  church  work,  will 
be  enriched  and  made  fruitful  by  the  application  of 
pedagogical  methods  to  the  adolescent  races.  In  the 
home  churches  here  is  the  beckoning  opportunity  for 
the  younger  ministry,  fresh  from  its  own  adolescent 
days.  But  it  is  not  a  priestly  service  alone,  though 
the  calling  is  a  sacred  one.  Many  college  students,  like 
that  one  at  Harvard  who  told  Professor  Peabody  that 
"  he  wanted  to  make  Harvard  something  more  than  a 
winter  watering-place,"  have  done  work  for  boys  during 
and  after  college  days,  and  have  sometimes  found  the 
religion  in  service,  which  they  had  lost  in  study.  Joseph 
Lee  suggests  that  as  the  young  page  was  placed  in 
charge  of  an  esquire  but  a  few  years  older  to  learn 
knightly  habits  and  then  sent  to  the  young  knight's 
castle  to  learn  knightly  ideals,  so  the  boys  of  to-day 

170 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 

need  the  contact  of  chivalrous  young  men  to  make 
them  courtJy  and  noble  men. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
The  Homb 
See  the  Bibliography  at  the  end  of  Chapter  VII. 

Ths  School 

Bolton,  Frederick  B.    Principles  of  Education.    New  York :  Scribners.    1911. 

Dewbt,  John.     The  School  and  Society.     Chicago:  University. 

FooHT,  Harold  W.     American  Rural  Schools.     New  York:  Macmillan.    1910. 

Gesell,  Arnold  L.  and  Beatrice  Chandler.  The  Normal  Child  and 
Primary  Education.     Boston:  Ginn.     1912. 

Gillette,  John  M.  Vocational  Education.  New  York:  American  Book  Co. 
1910. 

Groszmann,  M.  p.  E.     The  Career  of  the  Child. 

King,  Irvino.     Social  Aspects  of  Education.     New  York:  Macmillan.    1912. 

O'Shea,  M.  V.     Education  as  Adjustment.     New  York:  Longmans.     1903. 

Perrt,  Charles  A.  The  Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant.  Charities  Publica- 
tion Committee,  New  York: 

Smith,  Willoam  Hawlet.     All  the  Children  of  all  the  People. 

Games  and  Plat 

Bancropt,  Jessie.  Games  for  the  Playgroimd,  Home,  School  and  Gym- 
nasium.    New  York:  Macmillan.     1911. 

Gibson.  H.  W.     Camping  for  Boys.      New  York:  Association  Press.      1908. 

Johnson,  George  Ellsworth.  Education  by  Plays  and  Games.  Boston: 
Ginn.     1907. 

Handicraft 

Adams,  Joseph  H.  Electricity  Book  for  Boys,  Indoor  Book  for  Boys,  Out- 
door Book  for  Boys,  Machinery  Book  for  Boys.  New  York:  Harpers. 
1907. 

Beard,  Daniel  C.  American  Boys' Handbook.    New  York:  Scribners.    1890. 

Hall,  A.  Nealt.     The  Boy  Craftsman.     Boston:  Lothrop.     1909. 

Collections 
Bttrk,  Caroline  F.     The  Collecting  Instinct.     Pedagogical  Seminary,  1900. 
Hall,  G.  Stanley.    Children's  Collections.    Pedagogical  Seminary,  1891. 

Gtmnabtics 

Anderson,  H.  S.    Heavy  Gymnastics.    New  York:  Werner. 
Anderson,  William  G.    Light  Gymnastics.    New  York:  Merrill. 
Arnold,  E.  H.    Free  Gymnastics.    New  Haven:  The  Author. 

171 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 


Gtilick,  Ltttheb  H.    The  Healthful  Art  of  Dancing.    New  York:  Doubleday. 

1910. 
Bancroft,  Jessie  H.     School  Gymnastics.     New  York:  Kellogg. 

See  also  catalog  of  the  American  Sports  PubUshing  Co.,  New  York. 

Camps 

Gibson,  H.  W,    Camping  for  Boys.    New  York:  Association  Press.     1907. 

Hanks,  Charles  S.    Camp  Kits  and  Camp  Life.    Chicago:  Sports  Afield. 

Kephart,  Horace.  Book  of  Camping  and  Woodcraft.  New  York:  Field 
and  Stream,  1906. 

Seton,  Ernest  Thompson.  The  Book  of  Woodcraft.  New  York:  Double- 
day.     1913. 

Natukb  Study 

Parsons,  H.  G.    Children's  Gardens.    New  York:  Sturgis  and  Walton.    1910. 
DtJQMORE,  A.  R.     Nature  and  the  Camera.     New  York:  Doubleday.     1902. 
Hodge,  Cufton  F.    Nature  Study  and  Life.    Boston:  Ginn.    1902. 

Dramatics 

Chttbb,  Pbrctval,  and  others.    Festivals  and  Plasrs. 

St.  Nicholas  Book  of  Plays  and  Operettas.     New  York:  Century. 

Publishers  of  plays  and  entertainments  for  boys  are:  Dick  &  Fitzgerald,  New 

York;   Penn  Publishing  Company,  Philadelphia;   Walter  H.  Baker,  Boston; 

Edgar  S.  Werner  &  Company,  New  York ;  A.  Flanagan  Company,  Chicago. 

Socials 

Baker,  D.  Cornelius.  Indoor  Games  and  Socials  for  Boys.  New  York: 
Association  Press.     1912. 

Bancroft,  Jessie.  Games  for  the  Playground,  Home,  School  and  Gymna- 
sium.    New  York:  Macmillan.     1911. 

Stories 

Baldwin,  James.  Fifty  Famous  Stories  Retold.  Thirty  Famous  Stories  Re- 
told.    New  York:  American  Book  Company.     1896,  1904, 

Bbtant,  Sarah  Cone.    How  to  tell  Stories  to  Children.    Boston:  Houghton. 

St.  John,  Edward  P.  Stories  and  Story-telling  in  Moral  and  Religious  Edu- 
cation.    Boston:  Pilgrim  Press.     1909. 

Reading 

200  Selected  Books  for  Children.     Philadelphia:  American  Institute  of  Child 

Life.     1913. 
Books  for  Boys  and  Girls.     Brooklyn  Public  Library.     1911. 

Pictures 

Bailet,  Hbnrt  Turner.     The  Blackboard  in  Sunday  School. 
Smith,  William  Walter.     A    Complete    Handbook    of   Religious    Pictures. 
New  York  Sunday  School  Commission.     1905. 
172 


SOME        SUGGESTIONS 


Sex  Inpormation 
Hall,  Winfibld  Scott.     From  Youth  Into  Manhood. 
LowBT,  E.  B.     Truths:  Talks  with  the  Boy  Concerning  Himself. 
Hall.  Winfikld  Scott.    The  Strength  of  Ten. 

School  to  Train  Workers  with  Boys 

The  International  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Training  School,  SpringBeld,  and  the  Secretarial 
Institute  of  Chicago,  train  heads  of  boys'  cluba  and  secretaries  of  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

The  Hartford  School  of  Religious  Pedagogy  trains  for  the  teaching  ministry. 

The  New  York  School  of  Philanthropy,  the  Boston  School  of  Philanthropy, 
the  Chicago  Institute  of  Civics,  and  the  Philadelphia  School  for  Training 
Social  Workers. 

Books  of  Talks  to  Botb 

Dole,  Charles  F.     The  Young  Citizen.     Boston:  Heath.     1899. 
Fowler,  Nathaniel  C,  Jr.     Starting  in  Life.    Boston:  Little,  Brown.    1906. 
Jordan,  David  Starr.     The  Call  of  the  Twentieth  Century.     Boston:  Ameri- 
can Unitarian  Association.     1905. 
Jordan,  William  George.     Self-Control,  Its  Kingship  and  Majesty. 
MuNGER,  T.  T.     On  the  Threshold.     Boston:  Houghton. 
Not  in  the  Curriculum.     New  York:  Re  veil.     1904. 


173 


IN         THE         CHURCH 


VI 

THE  BOY  PROBLEM  IN  THE  CHURCH 

The  boy  problem  in  the  church  is  not  different  from 
that  in  the  home,  the  school  and  the  community.  It 
is  the  same  boy  everywhere.  He  may  step  a  little 
more  quietly,  wear  a  different  suit  of  clothes  and  have 
a  whiter  looking  face  and  hands  than  elsewhere,  but 
he  is  the  same  after  all :  physically  alert  and  restless, 
emotionally  eager,  socially  friendly  though  shy,  men- 
tally absorptive  and  curious,  volitionally  independent 
and  stubborn,  and  with  a  spiritual  nature  which  is 
secretly  but  honestly  feeling  for  foundations  and 
development. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  will  be  impossible  to  separate 
one  portion  of  this  complex  being  from  another  and 
train  it  by  itself,  just  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  act 
toward  the  boy  in  school  as  if  he  were  all  intellect  and 
no  body,  or  in  the  gymnasium  as  if  he  were  all  body 
and  no  intellect.  To  the  church  as  elsewhere  the  whole 
boy  comes,  and  in  it  as  elsewhere  he  must  be  symmetri- 
cally trained. 

The  methods  of  training  boys  in  the  church,  then, 
will  not  essentially  differ  from  those  used  elsewhere. 
The  church  desires  as  much  as  does  the  gymnasium 
that  the  boy  should  have  a  sound  body,  and  as  much 
as  the  school  that  he  should  have  a  sound  mind,  and 
as  much  as  either  that  he  should  have  a  sound  heart 

175 


THE         BOY  PROBLEM 

to  govern  both.  In  short,  with  other  philanthropies 
that  work  for  boys,  the  church  stands  for  character, 
developed  in  mind,  body  and  spirit. 

It  may  be  true  that  the  church  seeks  more  than  any 
other  institution  does.  In  seeking  Christian  character 
it  seeks  character  moved  by  the  Christ-motive  as  a 
motive  higher  than  any  others  possible.  But  as  ele- 
ments of  that  character  it  must  recognize,  with  others, 
the  interdependence  of  mind  and  body  and  the  essen- 
tials of  will  training  and  moral  training  by  self-activity, 
which  have  already  be^n  emphasized. 

When  we  come  oc  ask  what  the  church  has  found 
out  about  the  train  in  jy  of  the  religious  nature,  we  are 
at  once  impressed  tbao  both  the  oldest  and  the  newest 
study  have  been  littje  more  than  statistical  analysis. 
You  can  catalogue  a  date  or  an  event,  but  it  is  hard 
to  catalogue  a  boy.  Whether  it  be  in  the  annals  of 
some  ancient  revival  or  in  the  charts  of  Starbuck  we 
have  learned  little  more  than  this:  that  at  certain  ages 
conversion  is  most  to  be  expected;  that  it  is  brought 
about  by  a  certain  number  of  immediate  motives  which 
are  scheduled  and  by  a  much  larger  number  of  distant 
motives,  equally  efficient,  which  are  forgotten  and  are 
not  scheduled,  and  that  in  addition  to  those  youths 
gained  by  certain  methods  testimony  is  completely 
silent  as  to  how  many  are  actually  alienated  by  the 
same  methods. 

Without  claiming  to  have  gone  deeper  than  others 
into  these  depths  of  the  soul  life  let  me  state  the  things 
which  I  believe  the  church  is  trying  to  do  and  show 
what  seem  to  be  the  probable  means  of  success  in  these 
directions:  — 

170 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

_  .^.     „  First,  the  church  is  trying  to  hold 

HoIdmgBoys        ^^^^^^ 

Recognizing  that  its  methods  in  the  past  have  failed 
to  keep  their  grasp  upon  boys  at  their  age  of  greatest 
need  and  danger,  it  is  trying  to  learn  how  to  retain 
the  boys  through  the  adolescent  period.  In  thus  seek- 
ing to  fit  its  methods  to  the  growth  of  the  boy  the 
church  is  doing  one  of  the  best  things  for  future 
Christian  development,  since  habits  of  church-going 
and  loyalty  grow  stronger  and  more  influential  upon 
character  with  each  year  they  are  continued.  I  have 
already  indicated  that,  in  trying  to  hold  boys,  the 
churches  must  use  freer,  more  varied  and  more  un- 
conventional means  than  in  the  past.  If  some  pious 
heart  tremulously  inquires  of  a  given  plan,  "  Is  there 
enough  of  Christ  in  it?  "  my  straightforward  rejoinder 
shall  be,  "  Is  there  enough  boy  in  it?  " 

But  this  itself  is  not  enough.  Boys  must  be  won 
to  church  membership.  I  have  commended  the  plan 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  by  which  the  boy  is  never 
allowed  to  think  of  himself  as  anything  but  a  prospec- 
tive communicant.  The  plan  alone  might  seem  me- 
chanical were  it  not  supplemented  in  so  many  churches 
of  that  denonx'nation  by  graded  boys'  clubs,  which 
make  a  traditional  loyalty  actual.  My  own  endeavor 
has  been  so  to  make  the  activities  of  the  boys'  club 
work  toward  loyalty  to  pastor  and  church,  and  so  to 
create  the  realization  among  boys  fourteen  years  of 
age  and  over  of  the  naturalness  of  confessing  Christ, 
that  it  shall  become  a  current  anticipation.  We  must 
so  adapt  our  help  to  their  conscious  needs  and  so 
develop  that "  team-work  "  and  fraternity  spirit,  which 

177 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

mean  so  much  in  sports  and  in  college,  in  and  for  the 

church,  that  the  distressing  loss  of  adolescent  life  shall 

be  checked.     "  The  church  must  somehow,"  says  Coe, 

"  become  the  religious  gang  to  the  early  adolescent." 

^     , .  Second,    the    church    is    trying    to 

Teaching  x       u  i. 

Boys  ^^^^^  ^^y^- 

Every  boys'  club,  every  church  soci- 
ety for  boys,  is  in  reality  a  school.  Formal  school 
methods  need  not  be  used,  better  not  be  used,  but 
sound  pedagogical  axioms  must  be  applied  and  there 
must  be  pedagogic  aim. 

A^  to  the  subjects  of  teaching,  there  are  the  great 
landmarks  of  religion  taught  in  the  Bible  and  which  I 
outlined  when  I  spoke  of  the  Sunday-school  curricu- 
lum. Hardly  less  important  are  the  applications  in 
conduct,  the  emphasis  of  the  fact  that  character,  as 
President  Hyde  tells  us,  "  is  chiefly  to  do  one's  work 
well,"  and  intelligence  of  and  interest  in  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  church  and  the  world-wide  social  and 
missionary  work  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  To  boys  in 
the  city  and  those  who  have  few  advantages  there  are 
many  things  supplementary  to  school  life  which  may 
well  be  taught,  especially  those  constructive  crafts 
and  plays  which  arouse  the  energies,  ^ocus  the  atten- 
tion, train  the  will,  make  the  child  creative,  keep  him 
from  morbid  introspection  and  direct  to  his  life  mission. 

_  Third,  the  church  is  trying  to  win 

Winning  Boys      ,  ,     '  ,.   .         ,.-        "^     ^ 

boys  to  the  religious  life. 

I  have  analyzed  carefully  the  different  organizations 

which  are  trying  to  help  boys  in  our  churches.     I  had 

better,  as  a  sort  of  summary,  speak  of  several  dangers 

and  diflSculties  in  dealing  with  boys  which  are  inherent 

178 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

to  all  these  methods  and  are  besetments  in  any  other. 
One  of  these  is  tradition.  The  fad  of  to-day  becomes 
to-morrow  the  traditional  way  of  doing  things,  and 
before  we  know  it  we  have  no  other. 

Another  difficulty  is  uniformity.  Tradition  is  the 
mortmain  of  yesterday,  but  uniformity  is  the  iron 
grasp  of  to-day.  Wherever  it  is  it  throttles  conviction 
and  strangles  individualism,  progress  and  soul  freedom. 

There  is  also  the  temptation  of  numbers.  As  long 
as  people  love  to  roll  on  their  tongues  the  fact  that  there 
are  fifteen  millions  of  people  in  America's  Sunday- 
schools  and  read  with  awe  the  quarterly  accounts  of 
the  growth  in  figures  of  the  Endeavor  movement,  they 
will  cease  to  try  to  find  out  that  things  need  to  be  meas- 
ured and  weighed  as  well  as  counted,  and  that  the 
other  millions,  whom  our  thoughtless  and  careless 
methods  alienate,  cry  up  to  God  continually  in  the 
face  of  our  complacency. 

But  in  dealing  with  boys  there  is  often  quite  an  oppo- 
site tendency.  It  is  the  danger  of  coddling.  Sup- 
posing the  leader  has  few  boys  instead  of  many,  and 
is  using  many  thoughtful  methods;  he  may  awake 
some  day  to  find  that  he  has  done  so  much  for  them 
that  they  have  become  paupers  upon  his  charge  for 
recreation,  incentive  and  material  for  character.  - 

To  avoid  the  danger  of  coddling  I  would  see  that 
the  boy  had  something  to  do  for  the  church  as  well  as 
the  church  something  for  him.  The  "  church  messen- 
ger service  of  boys  "  is  a  recent  attractive  device  to 
this  end.  In  the  boy  choir,  the  giving  of  entertain- 
ments, the  sharing  of  good  times  with  others  and 
in   missionary  instruction   and   activity  this   can   be 

179 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

accomplished.  If  you  are  seeking  spiritual  aims  I 
think  the  essential  thing  is  to  find  and  group  together 
the  Christian  boys  and  make  them  the  personal,  active 
force  for  evangelizing  the  others.  They  are  worth 
more  than  all  sermons,  methods  and  other  efforts  put 
together.  I  have  spoken  of  work  for  boys  as  useless, 
of  work  tuith  boys  as  rewarding,  but  I  am  inclined  to 
say  that  work  by  boys  is  to  be  the  key-note  of  future 
evangelism. 

But  the  greatest  danger  is  unnatural- 
ness.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  when  one 
talks  with  a  boy  in  the  Sunday-school  class  upon 
religious  matters,  the  teacher  and  the  boy  are  almost 
never  their  real  selves.  One  of  the  axioms  of  social 
effort  is  never  to  create  a  condition  among  those  whom 
you  try  to  help  which  you  cannot  make  a  permanent 
one.  This  is  the  immorality  of  an  ordinary  revival. 
It  creates  in  the  hot  night  atmosphere  of  a  church,  in 
the  presence  of  a  crowd  and  with  the  accompaniment 
of  fervid  eloquence  and  exciting  music,  a  social  and 
sense  condition  which  cannot  be  carried  out  into  the 
daylight  and  the  home  and  business.  So  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  must  be  natural.  It  is  a  cowardly  thing 
to  say  personal  things  and  ask  searching  questions  of  a 
boy  in  the  midst  of  his  fellows  which  you  would  not 
dare  to  ask  that  boy  privately  in  ordinary  convereation. 
It  is  to  protect  these  reserves  thus  rudely  assaulted  that 
a  boy  puts  on  with  his  Sunday  suit  a  disguise  which  he 
carries  to  the  hand-to-hand  encounters  of  the  Sunday- 
school  and  Junior  society.  The  teaching  which  merely 
touches  that  artificial  boyhood  will  be  easily  slipped 
off   when  the  disguise   is   removed  Sunday  evening 

180 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

and  the  boy  goes  forth  to  the  sport  and  freedom  of 
Monday. 

We  are  unnatural  in  method  often  because  we  expect 
unnatural  results.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  danger 
of  making  prigs.  Dr.  William  J.  Mutch  sensibly  points 
out  that  results  which  are  purely  religious  when  pro- 
duced in  young  children  are  always  to  be  regarded  with 
suspicion.  The  boy  is  living  on  the  ethical  rather  than 
the  spiritual  level  until  he  is  well  along  in  adolescence. 
He  needs  homely  virtues  more  than  spiritual  graces. 
We  are  to  try  not  to  make  little  men,  manikins,  but  to 
produce  the  promise  of  manliness.  "  Even  a  child  is 
known  "  —  not  by  his  praying,  testifying,  ecstasies,  but 
—  "  by  his  doing." 

President  G.  Stanley  Hall  has  said:  "  There  are  the 
best  of  psycho-physiological  reasons  for  holding  con- 
version, or  change  of  heart,  before  pubescence  to  be  a 
dwarfing  precocity.  The  age  at  which  the  child  Jesus 
entered  the  temple  is  as  early  as  any  child  ought  to  go 
about  his  heavenly  Father's  business,  if  not  too  early 
with  our  climate,  temperament  and  life.  To  prescribe 
a  set  of  strong  feelings  at  this  age  may  introvert  atten- 
tion on  physical  states,  increase  passional  activities  and 
issue  in  a  sort  of  self-flirtation  or  abnormal  self- 
consciousness."  The  Rev.  Parris  T.  Farwell,  who  makes 
this  quotation,  adds:  "  The  observation  of  many  of  us 
will  approve  these  words  of  warning.  It  is  not  evi- 
dence of  the  wisdom  of  a  course  of  treatment  of  chil- 
dren that  it  brings  many  of  them  into  the  church. 
The  real  question  is.  What  kind  of  Christians  does  it 
make"i  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  lead  children  to 
assent,  at  a  very  early  age,  to  our  ideas.    It  is  possible 

181 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

to  lead  their  imaginative  minds  to  a  conception  of  their 
own  sinfuhiess,  such  as  they  ought  not  to  have  at  their 
age.  It  is  even  possible  to  lead  them  to  an  imaginative 
affection  for  Christ  which  is  good  so  far  as  it  goes,  and 
should  be  cultivated,  but  which  needs  to  be  supple- 
mented before  it  can  be  the  power  to  hold  and  mold  and 
save  which  characterizes  the  loyalty  of  real  disciple- 
ship." 

The  ultimate  aim  of  our  effort  is  to  have  not  only  boy- 
hood but  also  manhood  in  the  church.  By  winning 
and  holding  boys  and  nurturing  them  in  a  natural  and 
growing  faith  is  the  shortest  road  to  this  happy  goal. 

In  general,  methods  should  apply  to  nearly  all  the 
boys  as  fast  as  they  come  to  the  age  for  approach. 
Since  the  Sunday-school  is  the  instrumentality  through 
which  pass  nearly  all  the  children  of  the  community, 
it  is  this  agency  which  I  would  exalt  and  improve  and 
enlarge  rather  than  those  which  have  followed  it. 

.     .  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that 

omii     y  whatever  work  for  boys  is  undertaken 

in  a  local  church  should  have  an  authorization  that 
shall  make  it  continuous.  Too  often  when  a  pastor 
leaves  a  church  all  the  social  organizations  which  he 
has  built  fall  like  card  houses  behind  him,  and  his 
successor  either  disregards  his  work  or,  with  little 
apparent  reason,  builds  up  another  entirely  different 
set  of  amateur  and  puny  organizations. 

The  need  for  continuity  and  permanence,  by  the  way, 
is  an  argument  for  long  pastorates.  In  the  kind  of 
work  I  am  advocating,  where  personality  is  of  so  much 
more  importance  than  method,  time  is  needed  for 
influence  to  be  extended  and  do  its  perfect  work. 

182 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

Methods  should  be  natural  in  order 
and  application,  elastic  and  rich  in 
variety  and  adapted  to  interest  and  enthuse  those 
whom  we  reach.  More  and  more  I  think  we  may  be 
careless  whether  our  own  plan  is  named  after  or  affili- 
ated with  any  larger  movement,  since  there  are  so 
many  to  draw  help  from  and  such  variety  of  means  is 
necessary  and  since  the  purpose  of  us  who  have  the 
work  to  do  is  not  to  glorify  any  society  or  movement, 
but  to  make  manhood  out  of  its  stuff,  boys. 

The  deepest  thing  I  have  heard  said  lately  was  by 
the  Rev.  Charles  E.  McKinley:  "  Every  method  or 
agency  used  in  Christian  work  must  give  account  to 
God  not  only  for  the  souls  whom  it  wins  and  saves,  but 
also  for  all  whom  it  alienates  and  destroys."  We  are 
not  to  be  satisfied  with  our  success  among  little  chil- 
dren, big  girls  and  old  women,  if  in  trying  to  reach 
live  boys  by  the  same  methods  we  find  that  we  cannot 
touch  their  nature  or  needs. 

My  own  experience  and  study  in  a  variety  of  ex- 
periments with  boys  in  the  church  for  a  period  of  over 
nine  years  lead  me  to  condense  my  advice  into  the 
following  suggestions: 

I.  The  church  must  place  "  the  child 

in  the  midst."     It  must  organize  around 

the  child.     Its  architecture  and  fittings,  its  services  and 

activities  must  make  the  adolescent  the  first  thought 

and  not  an  afterthought. 

-II.  There  must  be  in  the  church,  either  pastor  or 
another,  at  least  one  person  who  is  equipped  for  work 
with  boys  and  girls.  In  the  larger  churches  we  must 
differentiate  once  more  the  two  functions  of  the  minis- 

183 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

try  and  have  again  ^'  the  pastor  "  and  "  the  teacher." 
In  smaller  churches  and  in  family  churches  I  think  the 
second  service  will  yield  to  a  Sunday  evening  with  the 
young  people. 

III.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  develop  in  the  primary 
and  principal  human  institution,  the  home,  intelligent 
and  active  care  of  growing  boys  and  girls.  The  chief 
object  of  pastoral  calling  is  to  confer  about  the  welfare 
of  the  children.  The  chief  normal  work  to  be  done 
is  to  train  teachers  for  boys  and  girls.  The  imperative 
themes  for  the  midweek  meeting  of  the  church  are 
such  as  relate  to  childhood,  its  training,  temptations 
and  local  environment.  One  of  the  most  important 
practical  activities  of  the  church  is  to  fight  home- 
destroying  institutions.  Each  sermon  should  have  a 
bearing  upon  the  home. 

IV.  It  is  desirable  to  visit,  study  and  coordinate  with 
the  church  all  the  other  local  means  of  education,  such 
as  the  home,  the  school,  playgrounds,  vacations,  li- 
braries, museums,  social  settlements,  local  historical 
sites,  etc.,  before  defining  the  special  boys'  work  in  a 
single  church,  in  order  that  the  work  done  may  be  sup- 
plementary and  may  take  such  advantage  as  is  possible 
from  these  others. 

V.  The  following  church  instrumentalities  are  to  be 
relied  upon,  in  the  order  of  their  importance,  in  work 
with  boys: 

The  Sunday-morning  service  and  sermon. 
The  Sunday-school. 

A  week-day  institute  for  boys  aflfiliated  with  the 
Sunday-school. 

Home  visitation  and  consultation. 

184 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

VI.  The  following  is  a  practicable 
A  Scheme  for  gcheme  for  the  church  education  of 
Church  Work       ,  ,  .  ,  .  i      .v      •     ^ 

with  Bovs  boys,  which  requires  only  the  instru- 

mentalities and  workers  possessed  by  an 
average  church. 

1.  Religious  training: 

The  sermon. 

Sunday-school  instruction. 

The  pastor's  class. 

Seeking  opportunities  for  service  for  children: 
choir,  errands,  entertainments,  individual 
activity,  systematic  giving,  helping  at  home, 
keeping  the  Ten  Commandments  and  living 
the  old-fashioned  virtues. 

The  evangelizing  of  boys  by  boys. 

Personal  and  individual  care. 

2.  Will-training: 

Such  as  by  wood-work,  cooperative  construc- 
tion, making  of  games,  designing  of  Bible 
book-covers,  games  and  play. 

Recognitions  for  church  attendance. 

3.  iHeart-training : 

Such  as  by  liturgy,  music,  stories  and  pictures, 
drama,  pets,  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur, 
Bible  and  hynm-learning,  personality  of 
leaders. 

4.  Mind-training: 

By  collections,  printing,  saving,  missionary  and 
general  information,  talks  and  tours,  super- 
intended reading. 

185 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

5.  Physical  training: 

Marches  and  drillS;  tramps  and  camps,  wood- 
work. 

6.  Social  training: 

Socials,    entertaining    others,    social    service, 
missionary  giving. 

I  have  been  led  more  and  more  to 
g     .  exalt  the  Sunday-morning  church  serv- 

ice as  the  chief  religious  influence  upon 
boys.  I  have  received  encouraging  results  from  the 
offering  of  simple  recognitions  for  attendance  and  from 
a  boy  choir.  I  have  also  been  impressed  that  by  "  the 
foolishness  of  preaching  "  much  can  be  done.  Mr. 
McKinley,  whom  I  have  quoted  before,  exalts  this  as 
the  divinely  appointed  agency  for  the  redemption  of 
boys.  He  calls  attention  to  it  as  the  opportunity 
"  where,  all  unquestioned  and  all  unobserved,  he  may 
lift  up  his  heart  to  God,  where,  without  being  hastened 
or  pressed,  he  may  think  out  his  long  thoughts  until 
they  settle  his  character  for  life."  A  rich,  expressive 
service,  thoughtful  and  generous  prayer  and  fervid, 
luminous  preaching  —  surely  these  are  bread  of  life  to 
the  age  of  wonder  and  awakening. 

I  used  to  spend  considerable  labor  in  that  difficult 
task  of  preparing  five-minute  "  sermonettes."  They 
require  as  much  work  as  a  sermon.  Somehow  they 
interrupt  the  continuity  of  the  service.  Recently  I  give 
the  entire  time  at  one  morning  service  a  month  to  a 
sermon  to  children  and  young  people.  I  am  con- 
sciously addressing  children  from  ten  to  fourteen.  The 
theme,  the  language  and  the  treatment  are  solely  for 
them.     I  find  that  no  sermons  are  more  popular.  There 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

are  many  younger  children  who  understand  most  of 
what  is  said  and  there  are  a  great  many  adults  of 
adolescent  minds  and  hearts  who  are  overshot  by  con- 
ventional, abstruse  and  scholastic  discourses,  who  are 
refreshed. 

_    .  Two  or  three  points  are  impressed 

Pr6S6iit  Iiccds 

upon  me  as  those  upon  which  present- 
day  emphasis  is  needed.  The  occasion  for  the  need  is 
in  every  case  a  neglect  in  the  practise  of  the  home  or 
in  the  common  ideals  of  the  church.  One  of  these 
emphases  should  be  upon  the  Bible.  The  traditional- 
ism of  our  older  thinking  made  the  Bible  a  remote  and 
unnatural  book,  while  the  newer  treatment  has  not  be- 
come the  possession  of  the  layman  sufficiently  to  be 
used  in  the  teaching  of  children.  For  reasons  aside 
from  these  the  Bible  is  neglected.  I  do  not  find  that 
boys  often  think  of  it  as  an  attractive  book  or  an 
e very-day  book.  Sometimes  they  seem  to  think  it  is 
rather  to  be  ashamed  of  if  one  is  found  carrying  it  or 
reading  it.  Without  diminishing  its  sacredness  we 
ought  to  show  that  it  is  truly  interesting  reading  and 
continually  practical.  To  adorn  its  pages  and  to  own 
a  respectable  copy  of  it  will  make  a  boy  feel  differently 
about  it.  He  should  see  it  as  a  varied  literature,  as 
sixty-six  books  rather  than  as  one,  as  story-book  and 
daily  hand-book.  He  should  know  it  in  the  modern 
language  of  "  the  Twentieth  Century  New  Testament." 
He  should  be  taught  to  test  it  by  modem  biography  and 
daily  practise  in  ethics.  It  should  become  more  vital 
that  Jesus  may  be  more  vital  to  him. 

No  more  crying  need  exists  in  the  church  than  that 
of  missionary  instruction  for  children.     I  consider  that 

187 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

the  whole  future  of  its  home  and  foreign  departments 
depends  upon  its  relation  to  childhood.  The  whole 
problem  of  missions  consists  in  training  up  future 
givers.  We  are  worrying  about  the  consolidation  of 
our  too-many  societies,  our  "  twentieth  century  funds  " 
and  our  '^  forward  movements,"  and  especially  about 
our  depleted  treasuries,  the  occasion  of  all  the  rest, 
when  the  real  lack  is  the  fundamental  one  of  interest. 
We  have  by  each  mail  some  new  form  of  literature 
intended  to  increase  interest,  but  its  statements  and 
appeals  are  not  calculated  to  arouse  interest  where  it 
did  not  always  exist,  and  it  goes  to  the  same  place 
where  the  literature  of  similar  appearance  and  illus- 
tration, the  patent  medicine  circular,  goes  —  the  waste- 
basket.  We  have  missionary  secretaries,  who  may 
either  bore  us  with  their  annals  and  figures  or  melt  us 
to  sentimental  tears  with  their  touching  tales,  "  touch- 
ing "  to  the  pocket-book,  prudentially  emptied  before- 
hand of  all  but  lesser  coin,  but  so  little  touching  the 
intelligence  that  we  often  forget  to  what  cause  we  have 
been  giving.  Now  this  arousing  of  interest  should  be 
all  done  before  adolescence  closes,  for  at  that  time  close 
our  keenest  memory  for  facts,  the  most  permanent  im- 
pression made  upon  the  emotions  and  the  formation  of 
the  ideals.  It  is  a  dreary  country  through  which  one 
travels  who  seeks  *to  find  a  missionary  literature  that 
children  will  read,  manuals  of  instruction  that  are 
practicable  and  other  methods  of  exciting  attention 
that  are  interesting.  We  need  in  our  Sunday-schools 
and  in  our  lesson  system  so  to  incorporate  missionary 
teaching  that  it  shall  take  the  dignity  and  importance 
of  the  revealed  Word  itself.     When  I  speak  of  "  mis- 

188 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

sionary  teaching  "  I  plead  for  something  really  deeper. 
What  we  want  is  not  money  for  "  causes,"  but  loyalty 
to  loves.  "  It  is  not  what  you  do  for  him,  but  what 
he  does  for  you  and  for  the  crowd,"  says  Joseph  Lee, 
"  that  makes  the  boy  loyal."  Having  won  loyalty 
through  service  you  want  to  ally  the  boy  with  all 
social  progress.  It  is  a  narrow,  jealous  church  that 
gives  information  only  of  its  own  little  denominational 
"  boards  "  when  all  modern  social  movements  and  even 
current  history  are  equally  portions  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  We  want  in  our  week-day  organizations  dra- 
matic and  pictorial  methods  that  shall  enthuse  and  in- 
spire the  early  love  and  generosity  of  boys  and  girls 
for  the  great  world  causes.  Our  greatest  need  here,  of 
course,  is  that  the  home  should  originate  this  enthu- 
siasm. Perhaps  if  we  begin  with  the  children  now  — 
not  in  mournful  little  missionary  societies  presided  over 
by  forlorn  and  lonely  workers,  but  in  the  central 
educational  institute  of  the  church  and  with  an  ade- 
quate literature  to  take  the  place  of  the  literature 
wasted  upon  adults  —  perhaps  we  shall  have  fathers 
and  mothers  some  day  who  will  do  more  of  this  them- 
selves. 

We  need,  too,  to  emphasize  that  religion  is  service. 
To  gather  children  when  they  ought  to  be  helping 
their  mothers  or  studying  their  lessons  is  unchristian. 
To  foster  a  desire  to  be  good  without  being  good  for 
something  is  mischievous.  To  create  a  committee  for 
the  purpose  of  watching  its  chairman  do  its  work  is 
an  American  fault  not  confined  to  children's  societies. 
It  is  also  paralyzing  to  a  child  to  be  set  to  do  work 
that  he  knows  very  well  is  not  worth  doing.     It  is  the 

189 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

supreme  duty  and  privilege  of  the  helper  of  boys  to 

give  him  the  very  highest  inspirations  possible  to  the 

soul  and  then  to  do  the  difficult  thing  of  making  them 

applicable  to  that  hodden  gray,  homespun  stuff  called 

Duty. 

It  is  my  own  habit,  as  a  pastor,  to 
The  Author's  „         '^c^      j  u      i  •     j-    •  •         • 

Exoerience  enroll  my  Sunday-school  m  divisions  in 

the  order  of  maturity,  and  to  endeavor 
that  none  shall  pass  into  or  through  adolescence  with- 
out my  personal  attention.  The  number  in  that 
period  at  once  may  not  be  very  large,  but  it  embraces 
in  a  very  few  years  all  the  children  in  the  church  at 
their  most  susceptible  age.  I  visit  the  homes  and 
schools  of  these  children  for  conference  and  information 
as  often  as  possible.  As  soon  as  cold  weather  approaches 
I  gather  them  in  informal  groups,  after  school  or  Satur- 
days, for  activities,  not  previously  announced,  varying 
each  year,  in  short  courses  and  conducted  as  much  as 
possible  out-of-doors  and  at  home.  I  have  been  doing 
the  only  strictly  religious  work,  outside  of  the  preaching 
and  securing  for  them  the  best  teachers  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  just  before  Easter  in  the  form  of  free  Sunday 
afternoon  conferences.  I  rely  almost  entirely  upon 
real  friendships  thus  created,  a  mutual  enjoyment  of 
the  society  of  each  other,  coordination  with  the  home, 
carefully  cherished  loyalty  to  the  church  and  salvation 
by  displacement.  I  believe  it  to  be  important  to  gain 
this  friendship  early  in  adolescence  and  to  regain  it  by 
earnest  tact  in  that  trying  period  of  independence  and 
change  which  precedes  reconstruction,  at  sixteen  to 
eighteen.  It  is  at  this  latter  time  that  the  pastor  needs  to 
give  most  personal  care  to  his  young  people's  societies, 

190 


IN         THE         CHURCH 

which,  conducted  by  others  and  by  methods  possibly 
not  adaptable  to  boys  of  that  age,  sadly  lose  those  who 
most  need  to  be  held.  At  twelve  and  at  sixteen  are 
the  points  for  personal  work  —  the  former  for  acquaint- 
ance and  association,  the  latter  for  meeting  restlessness 
and  doubt;  the  former  for  counteracting  evil  influences, 
the  latter  the  Golden  Age  for  good  influences.  This 
latter  is  the  "  emigration  period  "  of  life,  corresponding 
perhaps  in  the  race-life  to  the  fruitful  years  of  the  dis- 
coverers and  pioneers.  In  general,  I  try  to  enrich  the 
lives  of  the  boys  as  much  as  possible,  to  be  of  real 
service  to  them  and  to  know  and  love  them.  I  become 
80  much  interested  in  studying  them  and  in  learning 
from  them,  the  only  true  friends  that  one  in  maturity 
is  ever  sure  of,  that  I  scarcely  ever  think  of  myself 
as  their  teacher,  except  in  the  pulpit,  where  I  always 
find  before  me  many  eager,  boyish  faces. 

As  for  results,  I  find  that  a  considerable  group  of 
young  people  always  offer  themselves  to  the  church  as 
fast  as  they  mature,  coming  spontaneously  and  to- 
gether. I  have  had  mothers  come  to  me  and  tell  me 
with  emotion  that  their  boys  were  changed  in  their 
conduct  at  home,  and  this  was  testimony  of  the  most 
satisfying  character.  I  have  seen  some  of  these  changes 
with  my  own  eyes  and  have  watched  young  men  go 
out  into  life  feeling  that  my  touch  had  been  in  their 
molding. 

It  is  intensive  work.     Sometimes  it 
OoDortunitv        seems  to  be  small  in  its  reach  and  grasp. 
One  holds  but  a  few  among  so  many. 
Yet  another  Teacher  was  content  to  have  twelve  dis- 
ciples.    And  in  every  group,  in  Sunday-school,  Y.  M. 

191 


THE  BOY         PROBLEM 

C.  A.  or  boys'  club,  there  are  always  a  few  key-boys. 
If  you  master  them  you  have  influenced  all.  It  takes 
but  a  few  years  of  this  kind  of  work  to  make  a  man 
unwilling  to  do  any  other.  To  become  an  artist  in 
spirit-building  is  to  write  poems  and  paint  pictures  not 
for  dusty  libraries  or  quiet  galleries,  but  for  millen- 
niums of  benediction. 

My  message  is  really  this:  We  must  rely  less  upon 
scheming  and  method  and  cease  to  look  for  the  prophet 
of  a  miracle  movement  that  shall  solve  our  problem. 
In  home  and  community  and  church  we  shall  save  our 
boys  as  Jesus  did  the  world,  by  the  sharing  of  life  with 
them.  For  them  we  must  go  down  into  the  Galilee  of 
simple-heartedness  and  the  Samaria  of  commonplace 
and  dwell  at  the  Nazareth  of  childish  toil  and  struggle 
and  kneel  in  the  Gethsemane  of  intercession,  yea,  and 
climb  the  sacrificial  mound  of  Calvary,  as  did  the 
fathers  and  mothers  and  saints  of  old,  to  bring  them  to 
God  and  to  form  in  them  the  eternal  life  of  a  new 
creation. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

See  also  the  Bibliography  of  the  Sunday  School  at  the  end  of  Chapter  IV. 
FoRBCBH,    William    Byron.     Church    Work    with    Boys.     Boston:  Pilgrim 

Press.     1910. 
Foster,  Ecgene  C.     Boys  and  the  Church.     Philadelphia:  Sunday  School 

Times  Co. 
Griggs,  Edward  Howard.     Moral  Education.     New  York:  Huebsch.     1911. 
McKiNLET,  Charles  E.     Educational  Evangelism.     Boston:  Pilgrim  Press. 

1905. 
RisHELL,  C.  W.    The  Child  as  God's  Child.     New  York:  Eaton.     1905. 
SissoN.  E.  O.     Essentials  of  Character.     Maomiilan,  1910. 


1« 


IN         THE         HOME 


VII 
THE  BOY  IN  THE  HOME 

One  who  writes  with  boldness  on  the  social  education 
of  boys  in  general  may  well  hesitate  to  speak  on  their 
moral  education  in  particular.  A  man  may  in  social 
endeavors  lay  the  responsibility  for  imperfect  results 
upon  his  coworkers,  the  parents  of  those  with  whom 
he  works  and  the  boys  themselves,  but  in  his  own  home 
there  is  no  one  but  himself  to  bear  that  responsibility, 
except  his  wife,  who  is  probably  doing  her  own  share 
nobly  and  a  part  of  his  own  besides.  He  who  humbly 
feels  the  need  of  setting  his  own  house  in  order  has 
little  time  to  give  counsel  to  others. 

Still,  if  a  man  has  learned  anything,  even  in  humble- 
ness of  spirit,  he  ought  to  share  it. 

It  is  sometime  before  the  true  awfulness  of  parent- 
hood dawns  upon  a  father.  He  rejoices  with  exceeding 
great  joy  and  ignorance  when  his  first  man-child  is  bom. 
But  he  has  as  yet  no  idea  of  what  is  expected  of  him. 

_        ,      ,  It  is  not  what  the  community  expects 

Parenthood  as         r        r   .^         .^     .    .  i         •  -.    • 

Incarnation  ^^  ^  father  that  is  so  alarmmg;  it  is 
what  his  own  child  expects  of  him  that 
frightens  him.  It  is  the  unexpected  way  in  which 
young  children  deify  their  fathers  which  startles  most 
men  into  their  senses.  When  a  man  hears  his  babe  say 
his  prayers  to  himself,  or  notes  his  implicit  confidence 
that  he  himself  is  quite  omnipotent,  it  makes  him 
imeasy.     No  one  ever  told  him  that  he  was  to  become 

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God  to  another  soul,  some  day.  He  recalls  that  God 
has  no  bad  habits  and  no  blue  Mondays.  This  gives 
him  much  food  for  thought.  To  realize  that  this  young 
creature  implicitly  expects  of  his  father  unvarying 
truth  and  universal  evenness  of  spirit  is  disheartening 
to  one's  sense  of  ease. 

The  secret  of  a  great  fatherhood  is  the  habit  of 
incarnation.  There  is  practically  nothing  else  we  have 
to  do,  but  this  is  a  thing  that  may  well  tax  all  our 
strength  —  always  to  put  ourselves  in  our  child's  place. 
And  this  is  something,  after  all,  that  nobody  else  can 
teach  you,  though  many  will  try.  What  you  learn 
you  learn  in  the  laboratory,  from  the  objects  of 
experiment  themselves. 

The  only  infallible  teachers  of  fathers  are  their  own 
children;  and  what  most  of  us  keep  busy  in  doing  is 
to  try  to  prevent  them  from  finding  it  out. 

Many  people  are  willing  to  give  everything  to  boys  — 
their  own  or  other  people's  —  except  the  priceless  gift, 
themselves.  They  offer  their  personality  to  others 
much  as  that  curious  South  American  lizard,  which, 
when  pursued,  shakes  its  tail  off  and  leaves  it  in  the 
path  as  a  bait,  while  it  flees  on  to  shelter.  It  is  not 
easy  to  do.  Some  one  remarks  that  it  is  a  great  man 
who  can  put  himself  in  a  small  place  and  not  feel 
cramped;  and  Plato  said:  *'  Many  are  the  wand  bearers, 
but  few  are  the  true  bacchanals."  Yet  the  weakness 
of  most  fatherhood  is  its  externalism. 

In  the  first  chapter  1  laid  considerable  stress  upon 
the  imminence  of  the  boy's  physical  nature  and  his 
avidness  of  life.  His  response  to  every  impulse  is  more 
intense  than  that  of  girls.    This  extremity  of  the  boy's 

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IN         THE         HOME 


feeling  often  leads  to  irregular  acts.  Certain  years  of 
the  boy's  life  have  been  called  the  semi-criminal  years. 
It  has  been  discovered  that  the  very  year  which  is  the 
acme  of  the  criminal  period  is  also  the  height  of  the 
conversion  period.  You  can  expect  anything  of  a  boy 
at  that  period,  and  when  he  is  most  susceptible  to  evil 
he  is  also  intensely  susceptible  to  good. 

But  as  we  study  this  curious  inconsistency  we  notice 
this  one  satisfying  fact  —  that  every  one  of  these 
instincts  and  passions  connects  with  something  also 
that  is  good,  and  there,  I  think,  you  have  the  key  to 
the  situation.  The  Master  spoke  of  it  in  one  of  his 
parables  when  he  told  of  the  man  who  had  a  house  in 
which  was  an  evil  spirit,  and  he  drove  out  the  spirit 
and  swept  the  house,  but  instantly  seven  other  spirits, 
each  worse  than  the  first,  came  in.  The  good  drives 
out  the  evil  or  the  evil  drives  out  the  good.  Salvation 
by  displacement  is  the  great  principle  for  the  moral 
development  of  boyhood. 

All  these  qualities,  if  they  can  only  be  focused  on  the 
right  things,  will  drive  out  the  evil.  We  must  offer 
him  interpretations  of  these  enthusiasms  and  ideals. 
We  must  interpret  them  to  ourselves  not  as  indications 
of  total  depravity,  but  simply  of  abundance  of  life. 

Now  in  order  to  meet  this  abundant  life  in  my  boy 

in  the  right  spirit  several  things  are  required  of  me. 

^    ,^^  For  mv  boy's  sake  one  thing  I  need  is 

Health  i      ,  ,      \t      ^        i  r  i 

Necessary  health.    Not  for  the  purposes  of  corporal 

punishment,  but  so  that  he  will  not  be 

ashamed  of  me.  He  wants  me  to  be  his  hero  always,  but 

when  the  great  heroic  years  come  on  and  he  believes, 

with  his  old  Greek  contemporaries,  that  the  laurel  is 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

better  than  the  bay,  he  will  think  I  am  all  very  well,  but 
that  I  don't  amount  to  much  in  the  real  world  unless  I 
am  strong  and  swift  on  my  feet,  hold  my  breastbone 
high  and  am  able  to  see  my  toes  as  I  look  down  across 
my  waistcoat. 

I  see  that  as  the  boys  wander  through  the  medieval 
realms  which  they  must  traverse  before  they  become 
my  contemporaries,  I  must  be  much  out-of-doors, 
away  from  the  crowd  and  hard  by  hills,  waters  and 
flying  clouds.  I  know  that  I  shall  have  to  camp  out, 
try  to  learn  to  like  what  no  one  who  has  outgrown  boy- 
hood can  newly  learn  to  like  —  to  fish,  to  hunt,  to  swim. 
I  must  learn  to  tell  a  toadstool  from  a  mushroom  and 
a  birch  from  a  balm  of  Gilead.  It  makes  me  old  to 
think  of  it,  and  I  lament  the  boyhood  I  never  had,  be- 
cause I  was  such  a  good  child  that  they  let  me  read 
books  when  I  should  have  been  roaming  God's  wonder- 
land, and  made  me  learn  to  swim  in  the  bathtub. 

Think  for  a  moment  of  the  things  children  like  in 
the  country.  What  are  the  elements  of  a  boy's  heaven? 
Pets,  things  to  eat,  quiet  nooks,  homemade  toys, 
sportsmanship  and  a  chum.  Now  these  are  just  the 
simple  sort  of  things  we  need  for  ourselves.  They  take 
us  away  from  hotels,  parlors,  best  clothes  and  sedentary 
employments,  and  constitute  that  change  which  is  itself 
rest.  I  know  it  requires  a  deliberate  act  of  the  will 
sometimes  to  alter  one's  winter  habits  suddenly.  I  my- 
self find  it  hard  when  the  cry  rings  through  the  upper 
hall  in  my  country  house  at  6.30  in  the  morning, 
"  The  last  man  out  of  bed  is  a  nigger,"  to  get  myself 
up  quick  enough  to  avoid  being  the  colored  gentleman 
for  that  day.    But  it  is  good  to  do. 

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Most  parents  do  not  have  enough  fun  with  their 
children;  some  because  they  think  parenthood  is  a 
profession  and  take  it  too  seriously,  and  most  be- 
cause they  get  all  tired  out  with  them  in  the  winter. 
Vacation  is  a  great  opportunity  to  regard  the  young 
through  joyous  eyes,  undarkened  even  by  child-study. 
Let  a  father  count  that  day  lost  whose  low  de- 
scending sun  has  not  seen  him  laugh  with  his 
children. 

One  thing  every  one  of  us  needs  to 
Necessary  crave  constantly  is  the  sense  of  humor. 

The  boys  are  getting  into  the  awkward 
age,  when  their  nerves  and  their  muscles  do  not  keep 
pace  in  growth.  Now  humor  among  boys  is  a  form  of 
awkwardness,  an  intellectual  ungainliness.  No  boy  is 
really  irreverent;  he  is  only  humorous.  A  group  of  boys 
are  not  consciously  noisy  or  a  nuisance.  Their  actions 
are  expressive  of  joint  humor.  It  takes  humor  to  see 
humor  and  to  bear  with  it.  George  Eliot  never  said  a 
truer  thing  than  when  she  once  remarked  that  "  there 
is  no  greater  strain  of  friendship  than  a  different  taste 
in  jokes."  We  always  need  a  gift  in  prayer,  but  during 
the  trying  days  of  adolescence  I  pray  that  I  may  have 
a  gift  of  humor.  There  is  no  situation  which  seems 
serious  that  does  not  have  something  funny  in  it.  To 
be  able  to  see  that  will  save  the  situation.  Sarcasm  is 
wit,  not  humor,  and  it  has  almost  no  place  in  a  parental 
vocabulary.  The  sense  of  humor  in  a  parent  is  the 
only  thing  that  can  help  a  boy  live  through  his  moods 
and  despairs  and  that  can  enable  us  meanwhile  to  be 
able  to  live  with  him.  Humor  at  its  highest  and  best 
is  the  same  as  insight. 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

The  key-note  to  all  this  is  reality.  A 
Neces^v  ^^^'  ^^  ^^®  most  real  creature  alive.     He 

sees  things  straight  through  and  he  al- 
ways tells  the  truth  when  he  is  not  scared  into  lying. 
He  has  a  horror  of  moralizing,  "  personal  work  "  and 
good  advice.  He  does  not  like  to  be  wept  over  by  a 
woman  or  caressed  or  prayed  over  by  a  man.  His 
ideals,  because  of  his  splendid  physical  vigor  and  rapid 
growth,  are  largely  physical  ideals.  "  Nipper  Brown 
is  the  best  scholar  in  my  class,"  confesses  the  author  of 
"  The  Real  Diary  of  a  Real  Boy,"  but  adds,  with  simple 
pride,  "  I  can  lick  him  with  one  hand."  Life  to  a  boy 
is,  as  it  is  not  to  us,  real  all  the  time. 

Unto  such  a  person  it  is  no  use  to  come  with  finger 
on  lip  or  frown  on  face  or  even  with  a  rosy  apple  hitched 
to  a  prayer-meeting  —  if  you  would  find  him  at  home. 
We  must  bring  to  these  boys  a  religion  that  is  as  real 
as  themselves  and  that  will  live  among  their  boyish 
instincts.  They  must  be  allowed  to  be  boy  Christians 
in  a  boy's,  not  in  a  man's,  way. 

Reality  is  the  only  thing  worth  working  with  or  for 
in  trying  to  help  boys.  A  boy  may  be  able,  as  a  recent 
writer  expressed  it,  "  to  disgorge  Bible  verses  like  buck- 
shot out  of  a  bag,"  or  willing  to  turn  his  soul  inside  out 
in  a  prayer-meeting  like  a  turkey's  gizzard,  but  if  he  is 
not  honest  and  clean  in  his  living  he  has  simply  become 
a  young  whitewashed  sepulcher.  Methods,  too,  must 
have  real  ends  in  view  and  appeal  to  real  instincts. 
The  supreme  opportunity  of  parents  with  boys  is  that 
they  may  make  a  constant  and  unadulterated  appeal 
to  enthusiasm.  As  this  is  something  every  normal  boy 
is  ready  to  furnish  in  quantities,  you  have  only  to 

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engage  it  wholesomely  to  get  hold  of    the    whole 
boy. 

The  anthropologist  explains  most  of  the  moral  aber- 
rations of  boyhood  as  the  emergence  or  persistence  of 
savage  instincts.  If  these  can  be  prevented  from 
functioning,  they  wither  and  disappear.  They  are  so 
prevented  by  filling  the  life  full  of  the  opposite  tend- 
encies. It  is  the  filled  and  not  the  empty  life  that  is 
morally  safe.  The  boy  who  has  learned  the  cost  of 
making  things  is  not  so  likely  to  destroy  other  people's 
property.  The  boy  who  can  be  made  enthusiastic  in 
doing  something  is  never  going  to  have  time  or  desire 
to  be  obstreperous.  The  boy  who  has  been  stirred  to 
live  for  some  large  purpose  is  not  so  subject  to  the 
temptations  of  intemperance  or  pleasure. 

We  are  then,  in  short,  to  keep  busy  appealing  to  a 
boy's  real  instincts  and  in  tryin^to  get  him  to  enjoy 
his  virtues  more  than  he  does  his  vices.  My  experience 
is  that  it  doesn't  make  much  difference  what  method  is 
used.  The  essential  thing  is  to  have  hold  of  one  boy 
by  as  many  handles  as  possible. 

A  little  girl  once  moved  from  the 
The  Advantage  country  into  Chicago.  When  the  first 
Home  night  came  and  she  knelt  down  among 

the  boxes  in  the  closet  that  was  to  be 
her  chamber,  she  put  up  this  petition:  "  0  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  us.  Thou  hast  taken  us  out  of  the  bright 
and  beautiful  country  to  this  dark  and  dirty  city, 
wfiere  we  can  see  thy  dear  face  no  moreJ^  Of  course  it 
is  the  last  phrase  that  is  pathetic.  Life  with  the 
Divine  Companion  is  diflBcult  to  children  who  live  in 
our  great  cities. 

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THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

While  I  was  hanging  to  a  strap  in  a  car  the  other  day 
I  got  to  thinking  about  Abraham.  A  verse  in  the  olden 
story  came  to  me  with  a  sensation  of  restfulness  and 
quiet:  "And  Jehovah  appeared  unto  him  by  the  oaks 
of  Mamre,  as  he  sat  in  the  tent  door  in  the  heat  of  the 
day."  The  contrast  between  the  patriarch  in  his  tent 
door  and  the  American  jammed  into  a  flat  seemed  to 
me  very  refreshing. 

Abraham  had  plenty  of  leisure.  He  kept  office  hours 
with  his  own  heart.  He  not  only  got  a  living,  but  he 
got  time  to  live.  He  had  so  few  things  that  he  used 
them  all  every  day.  He  lived  down  through  everything 
he  had.  When  he  came  to  a  green  pasture  he  did  not 
race  around  it  to  take  bird  photographs.  He  lay  down 
in  it  beside  the  still  waters  and  restored  his  soul.  He 
had  selected  a  lot  of  things  not  to  know.  Mrs.  Whitney 
once  said  that  the  test  of  a  man's  life  is  the  things  that 
get  crowded  out.  Abraham  knew  nothing  about  "  the 
latest/'  whether  scandal,  horror,  fad,  book  or  evening 
edition.  In  his  day  even  yeast  and  fire  were  hard  to 
get.  To-day  the  things  worth  while  need  to  be  put  on  top 
shelves  so  that  men  will  have  to  care  to  climb  for  them. 

There  isn't  much  to  see  in  a  tent,  therefore  tent- 
dwellers  are  always  looking  out  of  the  door.  They  have 
a  childish  aliveness,  joyousness,  welcome  to  all  that 
approaches.  Now  how  many  men  do  we  know  who 
are  so  interested  that  they  displace  books,  and  how 
many  books  that  displace  themselves  by  the  enthusi- 
astic activities  they  impel?  How  many  people  find 
their  virtues  as  interesting  as  their  vices?  Who  has 
made  the  simple  life  so  divine  that  he  wonders  not  to 
find  that  God  is  his  guest? 

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But  Abraham  did  all  this  by  running  away  from  the 
city.  The  reason  he  had  miracle-children  who  star  the 
sky  with  their  glorious  names  is  because  they  were  bom 
and  brought  up  in  the  country. 

We  who  cannot  live  in  the  country  must  struggle 
strenuously  to  provide  such  substitutes  as  we  may  for 
what  country  life  means. 

President  Bryan,  of  Franklin  College, 
"  Getting  ^^  j^j.  g^  couple  of  years  at  the  head  of 

^  ^^  ,,  the  Department  of  Education  in  the 
Philippine  Islands.  I  was  talking  with 
him  one  day  at  a  teachers'  convention  when  a  typical 
country  hoosier  pedagogue  came  up  to  us  and  drawled 
out,  "  Say,  perfesser,  that  was  quite  a  jant  you  took 
aout  among  the  Philippians.     Did  yer  see  much?  " 

"  Well,  I  got  a  few  exposures." 

Getting  a  few  exposures  is  one  of  the  privileges  we 
ought  to  try  to  give  our  children.     They  need  them. 

I  had  entered  a  boy  in  the  Boston  Latin  School. 
One  day  I  received  a  peremptory  summons  to  the 
school.  So  I  went  and  asked  the  principal  what  was 
the  matter.  He  asked  me  to  sit  down  and  wait  and 
see.  After  I  had  sat  an  hour  I  wanted  to  take  the  boy 
out  and  see  that  he  received  proper  treatment.  -He 
acted  as  if  he  were  patronizing  the  school.  He  had 
got  what  we  call  "  the  college  air."  The  boy  of  twelve 
was  already  hlasi.  He  had  no  reverence  toward  the 
knowledge  or  even  the  splendid  traditions  of  the 
school.  But  he  was  not  the  only  boy  in  the  room 
afflicted  with  that  disease. 

If  this  sort  of  thing  keeps  on,  it  is  going  to  be  serious. 
The  primal  thing  in  education  is  reverence.     Plato  said 

201 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

so;  Jesus  said  so;  Ruskin  said  so.  It  is  essential  that 
the  boy  should  have  a  chance  to  find  out  that  there  are 
greater  and  grander  things  in  the  world  than  his  own 
self.  He  must  see  that  the  stars  do  not  revolve  around 
his  own  person. 

One  of  my  favorite  pictures  is  a  painting  called 
"  The  Lion's  Cubs."  A  group  of  English  schoolboys 
standing  in  Saint  Paul's  are  looking  eagerly  at  the 
memorial  tablet  to  Lord  Nelson.  Each  face  is  trans- 
figured with  hero-worship.  A  boy  is  the  only  creature 
who  can  admire  anything  without  thinking  how  he 
looks  when  he  is  doing  it.  And  not  many  boy^  nowa- 
days can  do  it. 

Boys  must  be  exposed  to  nature,  to  work,  to  good 
books.  And  then  I  would  have  children  exposed  to 
folks.     I  don't  mean  mobs,  but  just  folks. 

There  are  some  folks  whose  touch  upon  children's 
heads  is  a  chrism.  To  entertain  such  angels  is  the  chief 
thing  for  which  hospitality  was  invented.  I  know  of 
homes  whose  furniture  is  modest  but  good  —  much  of  it 
on  the  walls  in  the  forms  of  books  and  pictures,  and 
little  of  it  in  the  form  of  things  to  trip  over  and  that 
have  to  be  dusted  —  where  some  of  the  greatest  names 
and  some  of  the  best  men  are  being  constantly  wel- 
comed. Into  one  such  home  in  Connecticut  the  other 
day  came  Saint  Charles  Wagner,  he  of  the  Simple  Life. 
The  eldest  daughter  served  the  table  at  breakfast,  the 
baby  asking  the  blessing  at  table,  at  family  prayers  the 
children  were  prayed  for  by  the  father-priest  by  name. 
The  good  saint  acknowledged  then  and  there  that  he  had 
once  had  a  vision  of  the  Simple  Life,  but  now  he  had 
really  seen  it.    And  the  children,  not  being  told  or 

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knowing  how  great  were  the  men  who  sat  at  the  board, 
to  which  a  father's  shrewd  love  had  invited  them  for  his 
children's  sake,  only  felt  that  every  guest  became  a 
blessing. 

And  now  I  want  to  approach  briefly 
The  Way  of         y^^^    reverently    what    Horace    Bush- 

p,  ^ .  nell  when  he  wrote  his  own  biography 

beautifully  called,  "  The  Way  of  God 
with  a  Soul." 

The  spiritual  life  of  a  little  child  is  like  a  little  cup, 
brimming  over  with  the  water  of  life  and  easily  spilled. 
But  it  is  very  little. 

The  penitence  of  children  for  their  misdeeds  seems 
usually  so  slight  and  temporary.  Their  little  sins  are 
as  much  a  surprise  to  them  as  they  are  a  grief  to  us. 
They  are  mostly  the  product  of  childish  ailments  or  the 
result  of  a  web  of  circumstances  in  which  a  child  finds 
himself  quite  innocently  entangled.  The  phrase  with 
which  Boss  Tweed  in  the  Tombs  apologized  for  his 
striped  career  exactly  represents  their  feelings:  "  I 
tried  to  be  good,  but  I  had  hard  luck." 

This  being  the  case,  efforts  for  maturer  qualities 
ought  evidently  to  be  avoided.  To  expect  or  strive  for 
a  religious  "  experience  "  from  a  young  child  is  as  fool- 
ish and  pathetic  as  to  seek  to  secure  an  apple  crop  from 
sapplings.  A  good-hearted  little  one  will,  if  brought 
up  in  a  minister's  family,  for  example,  try  to  be  as  pious 
as  his  parents,  just  as  a  two-year-old  apple  tree  of  mine 
bore  itself  to  death  one  summer  in  producing  some 
precociously  fine  pound  sweetings.  We  ma}'^  as  well 
realize,  as  Paul  did,  that  it  is  first  that  which  is  natural 
and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual;  that  a  child  must 

203 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

become  manly  before  he  can  become  godly.  A  normal 
child  will  say  his  little  incantations  which  we  call 
prayers,  invoke  his  tooth  when  it  aches  or  his  pocket 
fetich  when  he  is  in  a  tight  place,  and  look  for  miracles 
of  deliverance  when  he  is  in  trouble.  We  need  not 
question  or  rudely  disturb  such  imaginative  and  savage- 
like faith.  It  is  faith  —  the  only  faith  that  is  genuine 
in  a  child.  In  the  meantime,  we,  of  course,  may  habit- 
uate him  to  right  conduct  and  religious  observances, 
rejoice  in  the  dear,  unco venan ted  graces  of  his  heart, 
furnish  him  vacant  formularies  which  he  will  first 
grotesquely  and  then  maturely  populate,  and  give 
him  thus  the  materials  and  the  skill  for  building 
life. 

Probably  if  children  really  do  in  any  way  "  rehearse 
the  race  life  "  they  do  it  more  in  their  religion  than  in 
any  other  way.  With  them,  as  with  savages,  it  is  prob- 
ably fear  which  first  teaches  them  really  to  pray.  Thus 
they  learn  to  depend,  and  for  a  child  to  depend,  or  a 
man  to  cease  to  make  excuses,  is  to  pray. 

The  principal  thing  that  a  child  has  to  do  morally 
before  he  is  twelve  is  to  grow  a  conscience.  The 
principal  thing  after  that  is  to  get  power  to  use  his  will. 

I  would  be  very  glad,  if  I  were  sure  it  were  a  good 
one,  to  be  able  to  button  my  own  moral  code  around 
my  child,  knowing  that  it  would  probably  protect  him 
until  he  was  big  enough  to  outgrow  it,  but  I  would  much 
rather  be  sure  that  he  had  learned  to  speak  the  truth  in 
his  heart.  If  a  boy  can  always  do  that,  it  is  about  all 
one  ought  to  expect  of  him  before  he  is  twelve.  If  he 
obeys  me,  that  is  discipline,  but  if  he  learns  to  obey 
himself,  that  is  character. 

204 


IN         THE         HOME 


Among  all  the  experiences  of  early 
IS  men  boyhood  it  is  in  punishments  that  a 

father  learns  most  how  hard  it  is  to  be  God  to  a  child. 
Anybody  can  lick  a  boy  in  anger  with  a  good  relish,  but 
after  it  is  over  he  knows  with  shame  that  he  has  been 
a  coward  and  a  brute  to  do  it.  The  child  may  not 
realize  all  this.  The  zest  with  which  my  father  used 
to  castigate  me  gives  me  now  a  belated  but  keen  satis- 
faction. Still  it  is  required  of  a  man  that  in  giving  a 
licking  to  the  glory  of  God  he  should  do  so  after  fasting 
and  prayer.  Those  are  the  modern  miracles  by  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  but  the  father  who  can  perform 
them  realizes  what  it  meant  for  old  Abraham  to  lead 
young  Isaac  up  Mount  Moriah. 

It  may  seem  quixotic  to  say,  but  I  am  convinced  that 
after  a  boy  is  old  enough  to  tussle  with  his  father  he 
should  only  be  whipped  with  his  own  consent.  I  have 
known  a  boy  to  wait  a  whole  day  before  he  was  ready 
to  see  things  in  this  light,  but  when  he  did  there  were 
the  same  kind  of  tears  in  his  father's  eyes  as  in  his  own, 
and  when  they  went  downstairs  together  their  arms 
were  across  each  other's  shoulders. 

But  after  so  saying  I  pause  and  lay  my  hand  on  my 
mouth  and  am  still.  If  I  must  not  punish  when  I  am 
angry,  shall  I,  on  the  other  hand,  wait  and  seize  upon 
my  boy  a  number  of  hours  later  when  he  comes  running 
up  to  me  with  a  smile,  and  wallop  him  with  calm, 
passionless  conscientiousness?  Or  if  I  will  not  perform 
any  corporal  punishment,  how  shall  I  differentiate 
"  moral  suasion  "  from  ordinary  "  jawing  "?  Or  if 
"  self-government  "  be  my  fad,  what  shall  I  do  when 
the  child  refuses  to  obey  himself?    Shall  I  make  him 

205 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

obey  me  or  shall  I  let  him  try  the  expensive  and  cir- 
cuitous way  of  his  own  mistakes? 

With  your  kind  permission,  let  us  now  change  the 
subject. 

Nothing  is  more  beautiful  about  a  child  than  his  for- 
givingness.  As  the  dog  brings  his  wound  to  the  master 
who  has  caused  it,  so,  in  sweet  unconsciousness  that  he 
is  magnanimous,  the  child  clings  to  the  parent  who  has 
spoken  thoughtlessly  or  cruelly.  Oh,  for  this,  my  child, 
forgive  me,  that  I  have  so  often  deserved  your  for- 
giveness! And  yet  I  need  not  pray  so,  for  the  child  has 
forgiven  without  being  asked  and  without  reluctance. 

But  the  time  is  coming  when  that  forgiveness  is  with- 
holden.     Not  that  the  boy  would  not  like  to  pardon,  but 
when  he  becomes  a  genuine  personality  the  lad  with  the 
self-respect  which  personality  implies,  and  a  new  sense 
of  justice,  as  yet  more  sentimental  than  judicial,  cannot 
forgive  the  wound  to  himself  without  consenting  to  his 
own  soul-murder.     Here  is  where  the  test  of  parent- 
hood comes.  <£Here  is  where  the  insight  of  a  parent  is 
best  shown,  when  he  knows  how  to  see  that  the  issue  is 
not  obedience  to  the  parent  by  the  child  any  more,  but 
the  lad's  obedience  to  himself.     In  a  sense  it  is  true  that 
after  fourteen  or  so  the  child  cannot  obey  another  if  he 
is  ever  to  be  more  than  a  child.    To  break  a  will  now 
is  to  break  a  life.    The  exercise  of  authority  now  for\ 
its  own  sake  means  the  death  of  all  kindly  relations  ] 
between  parent  and  child  forevermore.     Here  is  where  ) 
are  played  the  saddest  tragedies  in  some  of  the  most/ 
Christian  homes^ 

During  adolescence  it  seems  to  be  a  chief  task  of  the 
parent,  and  especially  of  the  father,  to  cling  to  the  boy 

206 


IN         THE         HOME 


with  a  steady  and  friendly  companionship,  minimizing 
as  far  as  possible  nagging,  faultfinding  and  volunteer 
advice,  preparing  for  every  occasion  when  guidance  or 
rebuke  is  really  necessary  by  the  most  careful  review 
of  the  lad's  purposes  and  conduct  from  his  own  stand- 
point, honoring  the  boy's  sense  of  justice  and  his  half- 
blown  resolves  and  endeavors,  and  always  keeping 
cheerful  but  not  sarcastic,  humorous  but  not  witty  and 
both  impartial  and  generous  in  attitude.  Occasionally 
there  will  be  gleams  of  encouragement,  as  when  the 
parent  making  a  suggestion  instead  of  a  command  has 
found  that  it  was  immensely  more  effective.  For  per- 
haps his  son  says  timidly,  "  Father,  I  wish  you  would 
tell  me  I  carCt  do  this,  instead  of  saying  that  you'd 
rather  I'd  not.  If  you'd  command  me,  I'd  have  the 
satisfaction  of  disobeying,  but  when  I  know  what  you 
want,  I  want  to  please  you." 

Happy  the  parent  who  has  grace  to 

Suff  ^^*  wait  while  his  child  walks  through  the 

far  country  of  disillusionment  and  until 
he  returns  home,  no  more  a  boy,  but  a  man.  Happy 
he  who  can  outlast  "  the  equinoctial  gales  of  youth  " 
and  then  meet  him  with  joy  and  welcome,  and  sit 
down  with  him  as  he  clothes  his  old  toys  with  new 
knowledge,  and  enjoy  with  him  the  dear-bought  salvage 
of  manhood. 

But,  after  all,  there  is  one  supreme  grace  of  incarna- 
tion that  we  need,  —  the  grace  to  suffer.  At  my  best 
I  shall  misunderstand  and  I  shall  be  misunderstood. 
The  boys  must  make  mistakes,  they  have  a  right  to,  but 
it  is  father  and  mother  who  will  suffer  because  of 
them.    They  may  go  very  far  away  from  home,  and  the 

207 


THE         BOY         PROBLEM 

lengthening  bond  that  binds  them  back  will  be  the 
tortured  strands  of  their  parents'  love.  And  even  if 
they  succeed,  they  will  forget,  and  they  will  never 
know  what  it  cost  to  bring  them  up,  until  they  try  it 
with  our  grandchildren. 

But  the  cost  and  the  reward  shall  be  that  we  are 
learning  the  Fatherhood  and  the  Motherhood  of  God. 

SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Albxakdkb,  John  L.,  and  others.  Boy  Training.  New  York:  Association 
Press.     1910. 

Allen,  Mary  Wood.  Making  the  Best  of  Our  Children.  Two  volumes. 
Chicago:  McClurg.     1909. 

BiRNBT,  Mrs.  Thomas  W.     Childhood.     New  York:  Stokes.     1905. 

BusHNELL,  Horace.     Christian  Nurture.     New  York:  Scribners. 

Chenert,  Susan.     As  the  Twig  is  Bent.     Boston:  Houghton.     1901. 

Dubois,  Patterson.     Fireside  Child  Study.     New  York:  Dodd.     1903. 

Dubois,  Patterson.  The  Natural  Way  in  Moral  Training.  New  York: 
Dodd.     1900. 

FoRBusH,  William  Byron.  The  Coming  Generation.  New  York:  Apple- 
ton.     1912. 

HoDOES,  George.  The  Training  of  Children  in  Religion.  New  York:  Apple- 
ton.     1912. 

Jones,  R.  M.  Boy's  Religion  From  Memory.  Philadelphia:  Ferris  & 
Leach.     1902. 

Kirtley,  James  S.     That  Boy  of  Yours.     New  York:  Doran.     1912. 

McKbbver,  William  A.     Training  the  Boy.     New  York:  Macmillan.     1913. 

St.  John,  Edward  P.  Child  Nature  and  Child  Nurture.  Boston:  Pilgrim 
Press.     1911. 

Taylor,  Charles  Keen.  The  Physioal  Training  of  Boys.  Germantown: 
The  author.     1909. 


208 


GENERAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  special  bibliographies  at  the  end  of  each  chapter  are 
pretty  rigorously  selected  from  the  great  mass  of  material 
available  and  are  chosen  with  the  needs  of  the  lay  reader  and 
worker  solely  in  mind.  A  few  of  the  articles  in  special  maga- 
zines are  not  easily  accessible  and  would  not  be  mentioned  but 
for  their  great  value,  but  nearly  everything  else  is  of  recent 
pubUcation.  All  the  books  mentioned  in  any  of  these  bibliog- 
raphies may  be  ordered  of  the  pubhshers  of  this  volume. 

In  addition  to  the  selected  lists  of  books  at  the  end  of  each 
chapter  referring  to  the  subject  of  that  chapter,  it  seems  wise 
to  give  both  the  sources  for  a  deeper  study  and  also  a  liint  or 
two  for  those  who  cannot  hope  to  read  so  much. 

A  Bibhography  of  Child  Study,  with  annual  supplements, 
cataloguing  everything  that  is  issued,  by  Louis  N.  Wilson,  is 
pubhshed  at  Clark  University,  Worcester. 

An  Annual  Bibliography  of  Books  on  Education,  annotated, 
is  published  by  The  Educational  Review,  New  York  City. 

A  Classified  Bibliography  of  Boy  Life  and  Organized  Work 
with  Boys,  by  J.  T.  Bowne,  the  most  valuable  list  on  these 
special  subjects,  was  pubhshed  in  Association  Boys,  August,  1906. 

A  Bibliography  of  Children's  Interests  is  printed  in  the 
*'  Psychology  of  Child  Development,"  by  Irving  King.  Chicago; 
The  University.     1903. 

A  Bibliography  of  Religious  Education,  by  William  Walter 
Smith,  is  published  by  the  ReHgious  Education  Association, 
Chicago. 

A  Bibliography  of  Moral  Education,  with  excellent  annota- 
tions, is  found  in  "  Moral  Education,"  by  Edward  Howard 
Griggs.     New  York.     1904. 

A  Selected  BibUography  of  Childhood  and  Adolescence,  anno- 
tated, and  containing  many  English  titles,  is  published  in  Saint 
George,   quarterly,    Birmingham,    England,   in    1906-07. 

A  BibUography  of  the  Bible  School    is  published  in  "The 

209 


GENERAL         BIBLIOGRAPHY 

"Pedagogical  Bible  School,"  by  S.  B.  Haslett.  New  York: 
Revell.     1903. 

A  Bibliography  of  Play  is  found  in  "Education  by  Plays  and 
Games,"  by  George  Ellsworth  Johnson.    Boston:   Ginn.     1907. 

There  are  excellent  Bibliographies  of  stories  in  "Stories  and 
Story-telling,"  by  Edward  P.  St.  John.  Boston:  Pilgrim  Press. 
1910. 

There  is  a  Bibliography  of  vocations  in  "Choosing  a  Career." 
Brooklyn:  E.  W.  Weaver,  25  Jefferson  Avenue.    1910. 

There  is  a  Bibhography  of  child  mortahty,  play,  recreation 
and  clubs,  backward,  dependent,  and  deUnquent  children  in 
"Child  Problems,"  by  George  B.  Mangold.  New  York:  Mac- 
millan.     1910. 

In  answer  to  the  frequent  question  that  has  come  to  the  author 
as  to  short  reading  courses  in  the  Boy  Problem,  he  would  suggest 
the  following: 

Youth,  by  G.  Stanley  Hall. 

Education  in  Rehgion  and  Morals,  by  George  A.  Coe. 

Educational  Evangelism,  by  Charles  E.  McKinley. 

Boys'  Self-Goveming  Clubs,  by  Winifred  Buck,  or  The  Boy 
and  His  Clubs,  by  William  McCormick. 


210 


INDEX 

PAQB 

A-bbott,  ^an 153 

Abraham 200,  205 

"  Active  "  membership 95 

Addams,  Jane 21 

Adolescence 18,  32,  169,  210 

Adventure-period  19,  23 

Agassiz  Association 125,  147 

Ambitions  of  boys 27,  37 

Andover  Play  School 82 

Anthony,  A.  W 117 

Anti-Cigarette  Society 125 

Anti-domestic  period 23,  38,  65 

Art  for  boys 158 

Art  Clubs  (pictures) 68,  158,  173 

Atavism 49 

Athletic  Clubs 58,  59 

Audubon  Societj'- 125 

Avidness  of  Life 10 

Baldwin,  William  A 88 

Balliet,  Thomas  M 12 

Band  of  Hope 125 

Band  of  Mercy 125 

Bible,  The 109,  110,  111,  136,  187 

Bibliographies 39,  54,  65,  125,  192,  208,  209 

Boy  Life 7, 40, 169,  210 

Boys'  Brigade 104,  125 

Boys'  Experiment  Clubs 87 

Boys'  Life  Brigade 105, 126 

Brinton,  D.  G 141 

Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  Junior 96,  126 

Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Phihp 96,  126 

211 


INDEX 


PACE 

Brooks,  Phillips 34 

Bryan,  E.  B 64,  201 

Buck,  Winifred 210 

Bunker  Hill  Boys'  Club 71,  72,  73 

Burr,  Henry  M 27, 150, 161 

Bushnell,  Horace 203,  208 

By-Laws  of  Boy  Life 40, 150 

Camps 77,  144, 172 

Candy  stores  as  social  centers 56 

Captains  of  Ten 98, 126 

Carleton,  Hubert 96,  103 

Carr,  John  W 35 

Catechetics 116,  126 

Chamberlain,  A.  F 41,  45 

Chesterton,  G.  K 19 

Chew,  Thomas 42,  69,  70 

Chicago  Commons 108 

Childhood 8 

Christian  Endeavor  Society,  Junior  and  Intermediate, 

87,  89,  126,  127 

Christian  Nurture  Classes 116 

Christopher,  W.  S 18 

Church  attendance  by  boys 121 

Church,  The 67, 81,  97,  119, 169,  175 

Cigarettes 125 

City  History  Club 126 

City's  influence  on  boys 52,  168 

Clan-ethics  of  "  the  gang  " 22, 64 

aark,  Francis  E 192 

Clark,  WiUiam  A 67,  126,  147, 172 

Clarke,  William  Newton 117 

Classes,  Communion 116 

"  aumsy  "age 41 

Coddling 72,  166,  179 

Coe,  George  A 16,  17,  28,  39,  92,  116,  178,  210 

Collections 85,  143,  172 

Colozza 62 

212 


INDEX 


rAOB 

Community  Clube 67 

Conscience 204 

Continuity 182 

Conversion 27,  29,  92,  176,  203 

Country  boys 82,  87,  126,  134,  196,  199 

Crackel,  M.  D 20 

Crane,  William  1 33 

Crime  among  boys 31 

Crisis 27 

Dawson,  George  E 49,  55 

Decision  Day 122 

De  Garmo,  Charies 141,  142,  171 

Degenerate  children 49,  50,  54 

Delay  in  development 41 

Delinquents 50 

Dime  novels 157 

Directory  of  Street  Boys'  Clubs 128 

Drama 147, 172 

Drawing 41,  86 

Eliot,  George 197 

Emotional   age 18 

Endeavor  Society 87, 89, 126, 127 

English  Boys'  Clubs 126 

Episcopal  Church,  The 119, 120, 177 

Epworth  League,  Junior 96, 127 

Ethical  DuaUsm 44 

Ethical  teaching  in  public  schools 138 

Evangelism  among  boys 97 

Fall  River  Boys'  Club 43 

Farm  Schools 126 

Farwell,  Parris  T 134, 181 

Fathers 131,  193 

Fetichism 16,  48 

Fitch,  Sir  Joshua 117 

Fitzpatrick,  E.  A 164 

213 


INDEX 


PAOB 

Forbush,  William  Byron Ill,  127,  128,  177,  186,  190,  203 

Forgivmgness  of  children 206 

French  Canadian  boys 43 

Fun 197 

Games 140, 171 

"  Gangs  " 20,  56,  61, 115 

Gardens 84 

George  Junior  Republic 126 

GiU  School  City 127 

Girls'  Societies 59, 60 

Good  will  of  boys 36 

Good  Will  Home 163 

Graded  work 108,  110 

Groos,  K 140 

Groton  School 64 

Group  Clubs 68, 126 

Gulick,  Luther  H .19,  65, 79 

Gymnasiums 142, 172 

Habits 13, 15 

Hall,  G.  Stanley, 

11,  27,  28,  31,  34,  39,  63, 104, 116, 138, 144,  169, 181 

Handicraft 83,  86,88, 143, 171 

Hawthorne,  Julian 155 

Health 195 

Heath,  D.  C 155 

Hebrew  boys 43 

Henderson,  C.  H 208 

Henderson,  0.  R 116 

Hero- Worship 23 

Hervey,  Walter  L 137,  173 

Hewins,  Caroline  M 151 

Hinckley,  Geo.  W 164 

Home,  The 25,61,73,131-136,193 

Home   culture 73 

Home  library  system 74, 126, 136 

Honor 1 04 

214 


INDEX 


PAOB 

Horne,  H.  H 34 

Hughlings-Jackson  theory 27 

Humor 164,  197 

Hunt,  Holman 158 

Hyde,  WiUiam  De  W 107, 178 

Ideals  of  boys 27, 36 

Immigrant  children 42 

Industrial  training 88 

Infancy 7 

Instincts 8,  12,  48 

International  Lesson  System 107, 108 

Irish  boys 43 

James,  William 34 

Jesus 35, 169, 195, 202 

Johnson,  George  E 51,  82, 141, 171 

Jump,  Herbert  A 87,  126 

Junior  Republic 126 

Junior  Societies 87,  89,  127 

Juvenile  Court  Publications 127 

Katabolism 47 

Keedy,  John  L 113,  128 

Kern,  O.  J 87,  126 

Key-boys 23,  192 

King,  H.  C 1 16, 208 

Knights  of  King  Arthur 100, 127 

Knights  of  St.  Paul 127 

Lancaster,  E.  G 27, 34, 39 

Lankester,  E.  Ray 49 

Law,  Age  of 14 

Lawlessness 53 

Lee,  Gerald  Stanley 12 

Lee,  Joseph 9,45,127,167,170,189 

Lesshaft,  E 42 

Lincoln  House 74 

215 


INDEX 


PAGB 

Literary  Clubs 58 

Lombroso,  Paolo 15 

Love 14 

Loyal  Temperance  Legion 127 

Lulls 46, 89 

Mabie,  Hamilton  W 140 

Mackintire,  A.  B 98 

Maclaren,  Ian , . .         11 

Malling-Hansen 47 

Manual  training 83, 143 

Mason,  Frank  S 73, 165 

Mass  Clubs 67, 127, 128 

McKinley,  Charles  E 29,  38, 183, 186, 192, 210 

Memory,  Verbal 13 

Men's  Leagues 96 

Mercy,  Band  of 125 

Meredith,  George 143 

Messenger  Service 126, 179 

Mischief,  Meaning  of 12 

Missionary  instruction 128, 187 

Mob-spirit 22 

Moral  training 16, 36 

Morgan,  George  W 43 

Mosso,  A 36 

Music 85, 146 

Mutch,  William  J 181 

Nascencies 34 

Nature  study 81, 83, 126, 147, 172 

Needs  of  bojrs 131 

"New  Education,  The" 64,  82  flf. 

Norway,  Maine,  Boys'  Work 86 

Old  Testament 16 

Olderboys 72 

Organizations,  Boys'  own 66 

216 


INDEX 


PAoa 

"  Pairing  " 65 

Parenthood 193 

Pastor's  (Nurture)  Classes 116 

Paton,  J.  Lewis 20 

Peabody,  Francis  G 62, 132, 170, 208 

Personality 62, 165, 174 

Pets 185, 196 

Philanthropic  Clubs 58 

Physical  instincts 8, 194 

Pictures 158, 173 

Pierce,  John  M 140 

Plastic  Period 31 

Plato 194,  201 

Play 61, 85, 140, 171 

Play  centers  in  schools 82,  87 

Playgrounds 88, 127 

Play  instinct 8 

Play  School  (Johnson's) 82, 127 

Play-Work  Guild  (Clark's) 147 

Pledges 91 

Poor  boys 168 

Prayer-meetings 92 

Preaching 120, 174, 186 

Precocity 41 

Predatory  Clubs 58 

Printing 86 

Punishments 205 

Questions 159 

Race  Life,  Reproducing  the 15,  204 

Racial  differences 42 

Reading 151, 173 

Reality 198 

Religion  in  childhood 16 

Religious  training 16, 36 

Reserve  of  boys 19,  91 

•  Responsibility,  Sense  of 14,  35,  91 

217 


INDEX 


PAOB 

"  Reverberations  " 45 

Reverence 201 

Revivals 121 

Rich,  Sons  of  the 168 

Richter,  Jean  Paul 21, 140 

Riis,  Jacob  A 132 

Robinson,  E.  M 29, 76, 145, 172 

Roman  Catholic  Church 120 

Ruskin,  John 202 

St.  John,  Edward  P 28 

Savage  instincts 199 

Savings 146 

School,  The  Public 9, 33,87, 136 

School  City,  The 127 

Secret  Societies 58 

Self-complacency 166 

Self-government 166 

Sermon,  The 184, 185, 186 

Service  of  others 97, 103, 167, 179, 189 

Seton,  Ernest  Thompson 100,  129 

Sex-Instruction 159, 173 

Sexes,  Separation  of 59, 91 

Sheldon ,  H.  D 57, 59, 60, 65, 90 

Siegert,  G 42 

Sloyd 83, 143 

Small  towns 78,  81 

SmaU,  Walter  H 138 

Socials 148, 172 

Social  Clubs 58 

Social  consciousness  of  boys 9,  19,  63 

Social  Organizations  formed  by  boys 56 

Social  Organizations  formed  by  adults 66, 127 

Social  Settlement  Clubs 68, 128 

South  End  House 68,  147 

Spiritual  development 26 

Stamp  Saving  Society 74 

Starbuck,  E.  D 19, 27,  39, 40, 47, 176 

218 


INDEX 


PAOB 

Stereographs 111,112 

Stories 147, 173 

Street  boys 67,  128 

Sunday-school 105,  128,  182 

Survival  ol  immaturities 45 

Swift,  E.  J 31 

Sympathy 24 

Talks  to  Boys 174 

Teachers 107,  115,  165,  170,  178,  184 

Temperament 30,  42,  92 

Temperance  Clubs 127 

Thaxter,  Celia 135 

Training  workers  with  boj's 170,  173 

Twentieth  Century  New  Testament 187 

Types  of  boys 42 

Uniformity 179 

Unnaturalness 180 

Vacation  Schools 88,  144 

Variety  of  methods 167,  183 

Vostrovsky,  Clara 149,  173 

Walker,  Francis  A 34 

Wanamaker,  John 97 

WTiitney,  Mrs.  A.  D.  T 200 

Wilder,  Burt  G 163,  173 

Will,  The 31,  32 

Women  as  leaders  of  boys 61 

Woodcraft  Indians 100,  129 

Woodwork 83,  143 

Workers  with  Boys,  Alliance  of 127 

Y.  M,  C.  A.,  Boys'  Branch,  75,87,94, 107, 127, 129,  142, 146, 169 


810 


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